Kitty, kitty, MEOW!
by The Magicians Wish
Summary: SLASH Ahoy! HD On his sixteenth birthday, Harry surprise, surprise comes into his inheritance and has turned into some type of human cat creature. How will he get through his sixth year? What's this about wanting a mate? Enjoy All!
1. Chapter: ONE

Kitty, Kitty...Meow!

By: The Magicians Wish

Disclaimer: Don't own anything that's got to do with

Summary: On his sixteenth birthday, Harry (surprise, surprise) comes into his inheritance and has turned into some type of human/cat creature. How will he get through his sixth year with all of these ridiculous new instincts warring with his human ones? And what's this bullcrap about him wanting to have a mate? Will his friends ever accept them, or will Harry lose everyone on both sides?

**Chapter:** one

_"Meow!"_

"Crookshanks, was that you just now?"

"Was that what just now?"

"I could've sworn I heard Crookshanks meow."

"Hmm, I didn't hear anything. You're probably just imagining things 'Mione."

"I think I'd know if I heard something Ronald," Hermione sniffed. "It's more likely that you didn't hear anything because of all that crust and grime in your ears."

"Oye! You said you were going to lay off about my ears!"

Harry sighed to himself and rolled his eyes. Trust Ron and Hermione to get into an argument for something as trivial as whether they misheard something or not. 

_'Okay, so apparently I still can't speak in bloody English. Let's try something different.'_ Harry poked his head a little farther out of the compartment door. The Hogwarts Express was almost full to the brim with students this year, the threat of Voldemort causing parents to enroll their children into the currently safest place in the Wizarding World. He picked out Ron's towering form and Hermione's bushy brown hair in the midst of the crowd, his enhanced sight making it that much easier, and chucked a bag of Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans at the back of Ron's head.

"Bloody fuck! What was that?"

'Bulls-eyed!' Harry mentally cheered when the snack treat connected with Ron's cranium.

His two best friends turned around to search for the candy throwing culprit. Harry waved his hand frantically to get their attention. The two pushed through the crowd once they caught Harry's eye, and seconds later he hurriedly ushered them inside, slamming the door shut behind him.

Hermione stumbled a bit over her shoes while still cradling Crookshanks, but quickly recovered her self. Ron had no such luck, as his lanky limbs tangled around one another and caused him to collapse onto one of the benches.

"Harry!" Hermione said, indignantly. "What on earth is the matter with you?"

"Yeah, and what's with the get up you've got on there?" Ron said, gesturing at the large sorcerers' hat on Harry's head and the white collar with the big red bow and golden bell in the middle wrapped around his neck.

Harry sighed again and was about to speak again when he remembered his linguistic predicament. He held up a finger for his friends to 'wait a moment' and fished out a notepad and pen from his pocket and scribbled down his answer. He ripped off the top sheaf of paper and handed it to a very bewildered looking Ron.

_"I'm in big trouble guys,"_ Ron read the paper slowly. He looked back up at Harry, both his and Hermione's eyebrows furrowing in concern. "What do ya mean mate? Did something happen at the Dursley's?"

_'Yeah, something happened all right,'_ he thought sadly, but he wasn't going to get into that. Right now he needed to deal with the problem at hand. He shook his head in reply to Ron's query, and scribbled something else down on his notepad, this time handing it to Hermione.

_"Just watch okay,"_ she read, _"and please promise not to freak out._ Why would we freak out?"

_"You'll see,"_ Harry wrote on his note pad, holding it up for both of them to see. _"Observe."_

Harry drew in a deep breath, then took off his hat. He couldn't help wincing at his friends twin gasps of surprise, regardless of it being expected. On top of his head were two black and fluffy pointed cat ears, each of them twitching and turning of their own accord at every sound made. He pulled the long fluffy black tail he had stuffed down his pant leg to show his now gaping friends as well. He was glad to have done so, as it really hurt whenever he sat down on it.

Hermione, being the more sensible one of his friends, was the first to snap out of her stupor. "Harry...how – what?" Okay, she _mostly_ snapped out of it.

Harry's ears drooped sadly as he wrote down, _"I know, I'm a freak of nature, aren't I?"_

"No, no, no!" Hermione said hastily. "I mean, when did this happen?" She read through his reply. "On your birthday eh? Why didn't you tell us afterward?"

_"The Dursley's put bars on my window again and locked me in my room for most of the summer, plus I left Hedwig at Hogwarts,"_ Harry wrote. _"They **really** didn't take well to my new...appearance."_

"Those bastards!" Ron finally said. "I don't believe it, I thought Moody and Lupin told them to leave you alone? Wasn't anyone watching Privet Drive?"

Harry shrugged, unsure of how to appease his friend's ire. He had seen a couple of shadows now and then behind a hedge or a tree, and he thought he'd spotted Mundungus Fletcher at some point. But Harry had already figured out that the Order, or Dumbledore for that matter, didn't consider being beaten and starved the same as being in danger. Which Harry sort of understood. He was living with the Dursley's so that he would be safe from Voldemort and his minions, and, Harry secretly thought, because no one else wanted to be stuck with a living target like him.

Hermione circled Harry, examining him with a critical eye. Sixteen years old and Harry was at least a head shorter then Hermione. He didn't even want to get started with Ron! The red head was easily one of the tallest boys in school, compared to him Harry looked like an Oompah Loompah.

She took his small hand in hers and brought it up to eye level. His nails were smooth and sharp at the tips, and when she put a little pressure on his palm they extended slightly. After a few moments of looking him over like a frog she was about to dissect, she pointed out something that he had hoped she wouldn't notice for at least a while longer.

"Hmm. What's that collar for?"

Figuring it would take him all of the paper he had on his notepad to explain, Harry unlatched the back of his collar and took the whole thing off. He saw his friends eyes widen at the sight of his pale skin glowing like a dim lumos spell, and his pupils lengthen into thin slits.

"Jesus Harry," Ron said, voice distant and eyes dreamy, "You're..."

_'...A weirdo, a cat monster, a mistake of nature...I could go on for days!'_ but before his friend could actually finish his own sentence, Harry placed the collar back on and his face and eyes went relatively back to normal.

Hermione, who's eyes had also taken on a dreamy quality, shook her head and said eloquently, "Erm...what?"

Harry quickly scribbled down his explanation. That two weeks ago the Dursley's had dropped him off at Mrs. Figgs house because they had won a all expenses paid trip to Majorca. The eccentric old Squib knew about as much of his condition as the three of them. She was the one who had given him this adjustable collar that was used to hide the appearance of her more exotic cats, though it apparently had no affect on his ears and tail. "I doubt anything will work aside from a Polyjuice Potion," she had said, "but who knows, maybe you'll find something at Hogwarts." She'd tried to get in contact with Dumbledore, but he nor anyone else was answering, and if someone did they only had time for a couple of word answers:

"Is the Potter boy all right?"

"He's fine...but –"

"Right. Good day Arabella!"

"The Order was rather busy this summer," Hermione murmured.

"It was crazy in Grimmauld Place, mate. Everyone was running in and out every five minutes, I barely got to see mum and dad at all!"

"That's because of all the Death Eater activity. It's not as if anyone from the Ministry is going to do anything about it," she said darkly.

"Hey!"

"Oh, you know I didn't mean your dad Ronald. I'm talking about those incompetent blind fools who wont except the truth until You-Know-Who stands directly in front of them and starts doing the Macarena!"

"Hey, Harry, what's the matter with your voice?" Ron asked, finally realizing that he hadn't spoken the entire time. "What, cat got your ton –"

"Ron!" Hermione barked. She turned to Harry expectantly. "Well, Harry?"

"Meow meow, meow, meow" Harry said instead of: **"I have no idea, I've been meowing since my transformation"**, also revealing his elongated and pointy set of canines.

Hermione and Ron blinked simultaneously. "I...guess you weren't imagining things after all, 'Mione."

Harry plopped down in his seat and put his head in his hands. He was cold and tired and hungry and his body hurt and all he wanted to do was find a nice little sunny spot in the corner and curl up with a saucer of milk and a ball of yarn and...

_'What the...? Oh hell, I'm even beginning to think like a cat!'_ The stresses of the summer and probably every thing else horrible that had happened to him recently started to come crashing down on him. _'Things couldn't possibly get any worse.'_

"Don't worry mate, we'll talk to Dumbledore as soon as we get back to Hogwarts. I'm sure he'll know what...ever you are..."

Harry's bottom lip trembled. Oh yeah, things just got worse.

Hermione slid in the seat next to him and patted his back comfortingly. "Oh Harry, don't listen to Ron, you know very well that half the things that come out of his mouth is pure stupidity," she said, shooting a glare at her boyfriend.

Ron merely laughed nervously, properly abashed.

"Meow, meow!" Harry wailed. **"He's right though! I'm a freak!"** He quickly dissolved into tears. 

Hermione lead his head onto her shoulder and stroked his hair. "Aww, it's okay Harry, shh, it's going to be okay."

"What's wrong with him? What'd he say?" Ron shouted over his cries, looking frantic.

"I don't know!" Hermione shouted back. "He's probably in shock. You'd be too if you woke up a – a cat creature of some sort..."

"Merowwww!" Harry sobbed even harder.

"Oh Harry, I didn't mean it like that! There's nothing wrong with being a...cat. So long as you're yourself we don't care what you look like."

One of Harry's pointed ears perked up. "Meow?" he said hopefully.

"Erm, yes," Hermione said, pretty sure she understood at least that mew. "Merlin Harry, you're freezing! Ron, give him one of your cloaks."

"But, 'Mione, it's nearly a hundred degrees outside! He can't be _that_ cold."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well, from where I'm sitting he _is_ that cold. So if you please..."

Ron grumbled, but fished out one of his frayed and patched cloaks nonetheless. Hermione wrapped Harry's slightly shivering form with the cloak, then continued to stroke his hair. Her fingers trailed up a little to stroke behind his ears, eliciting contented purrs that emanated from deep within Harry's throat.

"Awwww, isn't he adorable Ron?" Hermione cooed.

This time Ron rolled his eyes and muttered something along the lines of "Women" but Hermione ignored him in favor of stroking the now sleeping cat boy behind his ears.

The train arrived in Hogsmead station without a hitch. Hermione woke Harry up and, after Harry put his hat back on and adjusted his collar properly, the three trudged off the train.

A/N: Heh, hoped you liked what I have so far. Peace and Chicken Grease!

TheMagiciansWish


	2. Chapter: TWO

**Kitty, Kitty...Meow!**

By: The Magicians Wish

Disclaimer: Don't own anything that's got to do with

Summary: On his sixteenth birthday, Harry (surprise, surprise) comes into his inheritance and has turned into some type of human/cat creature. How will he get through his sixth year with all of these ridiculous new instincts warring with his human ones? And what's this bullcrap about him wanting to have a mate? Will his friends ever accept them, or will Harry lose everyone on both sides?

**-------------------------------------------**

**Chapter: Two**

After twenty minutes of shouting out various sweets, the Gargoyle statue guarding the Headmasters office sprang to life and allowed Harry, Ron, and Hermione to enter. During the whole Welcoming feast, everyone kept shooting curious glances at Harry and whispering rude and annoying comments that Harry, unfortunately, could hear quite clearly. It didn't help at all that his fellow Gryffindor's had no inhibitions voicing their own questions about his rather...odd attire.

Suffice to say, by the time Harry reached the top of the moving staircase, he was sporting a full blown headache.

"Come in," came the Headmasters voice after Hermione banged the griffin door knocker.

As soon as they entered, Harry, much to the surprise of everyone, himself included, gave a "Mew!" of delight, ran so fast that he was practically a blur, jumped over the Headmasters desk and pounced on said Headmaster, sending them both crashing backwards to the floor.

"Harry!" Hermione and Ron shouted belatedly.

They both came around the large oak desk, only to see Harry splayed across Professor Dumbledore's chest. He nuzzled and cuddled against the Headmaster's neck and cheek, purring up a storm and twitching his kitty ears (the hat had fallen off sometime during the fall) happily.

Ron and Hermione had never seen their Headmaster look so absolutely flabbergasted in all of their career as Hogwarts students.

"Pr-professor Dumbledore, please don't be angry with Harry," Hermione cried. "He doesn't know what he's doing!"

The Headmaster blinked and cleared his throat. "Calm down Miss Granger, I'm not angry. Though I would like to know why Mr. Potter has suddenly deemed me a sufficient pillow." He gestured at Harry's ears. "And where these new assets of his materialized, as I don't recall him having them in the six years we've known each other."

Ron and Hermione both started to launch into an explanation at the same time. "Right," Dumbledore interrupted, "perhaps it would be better if we had this conversation sitting down. My back can't take a pummeling to the floor like it used to I'm afraid."

At this Harry's ears perked up. He snapped out of his purring trance and scurried off of his Headmaster, helping him back to his feat and brushing off his robes. The small cat boy lead Dumbledore to his seat by one hand and, before anyone could do anything about it, hopped into his lap and continued on cuddling.

"Meow!" Harry exclaimed. **"Grandpapa!"**

Dumbledore raised a bushy white eyebrow questioningly at the two other students.

"Ah, well you see sir, we don't really know what's going on, all Harry said was that he woke up on his birthday with cat ears and a tail."

"Said?"

"Wrote down actually," Hermione corrected herself, "he can't seem to talk for some reason, well he _can_ talk, just not in human tongue and..."

Dumbledore lifted a hand to stop the smart witch's rambling. Hermione took a thankful breath.

"So, do you know...what he is sir?" Ron said, as tactful as ever.

Dumbledore stroked his beard in thought, but quickly stopped as Harry was licking it down with his tongue in an attempt to clean it. "You say he woke up this way the day after his birthday?"

Hermione and Ron nodded.

"And he hasn't been able to speak since then?"

"That's what he said – er, wrote down."

"Interesting," Dumbledore hummed, "I wasn't aware that the Potter's had katashean blood in them."

"Katashean sir?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. They're a type of cat creature, distantly related to the cat youkai."

"Really?" Hermione's eyes brightened in that way that indicated she was about to wring you dry of all of the information you knew. "Do they –"

"You're sure that's what he is?" Ron interrupted before his girlfriend could launch into something completely off topic. He figured it was worth the death glare.

"I'm fairly sure. They're the only cat creature I know of that come into their inheritance at this time – Harry, I'm afraid your tongue is going to get stuck on a lemon drop if you don't stop licking my beard."

Dumbledore chuckled as Harry immediately stopped his cleaning. Getting his tongue stuck in a beard sounded quite unpleasant, so he settled for batting at it instead.

"I'll try and get a hold of the Potter Family Tree to make sure my assumption is correct. The katashean are a relatively rare race, so I don't know how much information you'll find in the library. However, I'm confident that the three of you will manage to find something on the subject," he smiled knowingly in Hermione's direction, who blushed at the unspoken praise.

"Well, it's been a long day and you all have classes to attend in the morning, so off to bed with you! That goes for you too Harry."

Harry, who had been preoccupied with tugging at the Headmasters whiskers with his teeth, leapt gracefully out of Dumbledore's lap and caught up with his friends.

"Katashean, katashean...where have I heard that name before?" Hermione said once they were outside.

"Forget that!" Ron rounded on his smaller friend. "Harry, what was all that about in the Headmasters office? Have you completely lost it?"

Harry shrugged. "Meow," he said, quite unrepentant of his earlier actions.

Ron rolled his eyes, exasperated. "I have no idea what you just said, but I take it you aren't angry with Dumbledore anymore."

Harry shook his head. He had plenty of time to brood over what happened at the Department of Mysteries – what the hell else could he do while barricaded in his room – during the summer break. It had taken him a while to admit it to himself, but he finally realized that Sirius' death wasn't Dumbledore's fault. Harry was the one who should've taken Occlumency seriously, and Harry was the one who let Voldemort get to him and believed Kreature's lies. He was the one to blame, and he had no right to dish it off on someone else.

Once he was able to accept that horrible truth, he felt an overwhelming appreciation for the few people he considered family left. Remus, Ron, Hermione, and Dumbledore, all of them were precious treasures to him, even though the Headmaster could be a manipulative codger sometimes.

So, when he saw the Headmaster, the closest thing he'd ever come to think as a parental figure (other then Moony) foreign instincts had taken over. A need to protect and please and do just about anything to make his "grandpapa" happy.

"Meow, meow, miaw?" he pondered aloud. **"I wonder how long those lemon drops were in Dumbledore's beard?"**

Ron clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't worry mate, the Headmaster's let you get away with worse things then groping him," he said, completely misinterpreting Harry's words.

"Miaw?" Harry started to correct his friend, but then decided to let it go. He didn't feel like writing everything down, and was definitely in no mood to start a game of charades.

The trio finally reached Gryffindor tower. Hermione, after knocking on the snoozing Fat Lady's portrait, gave the password: "Bubotuber-casserole", and then they all clambered through the hole that lead into the common room.

Ron and Harry bid Hermione goodnight and trudged up the stairs to their dormitory.

"Gah!" Ron shouted suddenly.

Harry looked around wildly in the nearly pitch black dormitory. He found he could see just fine in the dark now, except for the fact that everything looked as if it had been sucked dry of color. At the moment he saw nothing that would warrant Ron's cry, so he turned to his friend questioningly.

"Mate your...eyes, they're bloody glowing!"

"Meow?"

Ron must have heard the questioning tone in his mew, because he exclaimed, "Yes, they're glowing!"

"W'as that about muskrats?" the two heard Dean mumble, followed quickly by a yawn.

"Nothing Dean, go back to sleep."

Harry patted Ron apologetically on the shoulder. "Meow, meow." **I'm sorry Ron**

Ron blinked and shook his head. "Erm...Let's just get to sleep," he said in a much quieter voice, "hopefully things will make more sense in the morning."

"Meow," said Harry. **"I concur."**

The two friends got dressed and climbed into bed.

Behind his hangings, Harry sat up on all fours and stretched, back arching and resonating several cracks. He span in a circle three times before curling into a ball at the edge of the bed, pulling the covers over his body. Ah yes, this was pure bliss. Much better then his bed at Privet Drive, which was as hard as a rock and had a couple of springs jutting out of it. Harry purred his contentment loudly, all he needed now was a bit of catnip and...

_'No more cat thoughts!'_ Harry thought to himself firmly. _'Sleep time now!'_

Before Harry fell into the throws of sleep, he could've sworn he heard Seamus mutter: "Someone turn off the car before the motor's battery runs out."

---------------------------------------------

Chapter 2 is finito! Woot, hope you all liked it.

The Magicians Wish


	3. Chapter: THREE

**Kitty, Kitty...Meow!**

By: The Magicians Wish

Disclaimer: Don't own anything that's got to do with

Summary: On his sixteenth birthday, Harry (surprise, surprise) comes into his inheritance and has turned into some type of human/cat creature. How will he get through his sixth year with all of these ridiculous new instincts warring with his human ones? And what's this bullcrap about him wanting to have a mate? Will his friends ever accept them, or will Harry lose everyone on both sides?

-----------------------------------------------------

**Chapter: Three**

It was the stream of light seeping through his curtains that woke Harry up the next morning. He yawned and stretched a bit, using his tail to push open his hangings to let more of that lovely sunlight get in. With the warm rays kissing his skin and the plush covers over him, Harry felt more lazy then he thought he was capable of being. Staying in bed dozing for the rest of the day was sounding like a mighty fine option as of now.

_'You could do that, or you could get your ass up and take a shower before the other guys wonder who let a damn cat in the bathroom!'_

Harry groaned and rolled out of bed, landing gracefully on all fours. Stupid brain, he hated it when it was right. He took a long and luxurious hot shower, glad that his feline instincts hadn't been adverse to the water, and got dressed. He had to make a slit in the back of his pants and robes to accommodate his tail; it simply could not take being sat on any longer.

After a few moments of mentally debating with himself, Harry decided to leave his sorcerers hat behind. Everyone was bound to find out about his condition eventually and if Harry had learned anything about being the constant victim of news slander then it was always best to get everything out in the open, lest he look even more incriminating by trying to hide.

By the time he finished with his morning ritual (he was about to put on his glasses when he remembered he no longer needed them), the other boys were just starting to wake up. He left them to their yawns and irritated grumbles, and headed for the Great Hall.

As expected, the few people already in the Great Hall openly gaped at his ears and tail.

"What in the hell happened to Potter?"

"Did you see his ears? They're right creepy moving by themselves like that."

"So _that's_ why he was wearing that hat last night!"

"Merlin does he look good, do you think he's seeing anyone?"

Harry's ears twitched as he took in the things that everyone _thought_ they were whispering behind his back. There was a loud buzzing sound in the Hall as it started to fill up with even more students and more of their cockamamie speculations about him. Some were saying he was a dark creature sent by Voldemort to kill them all, others were wondering what spell or potion he botched to make himself into this "monster", and still others weren't saying anything at all, but rather wolf whistling at him and leering in the most impolite of fashions.

Harry tried his best to pretend none of them existed and distracted himself by fixing his two best friends a plate of their favorite foods.

When his two said best friends finally arrived they looked surprised to see that their meal had already been taken care of. Well, Hermione looked surprised, Ron just plunked down in his seat opposite Harry and dug in without preamble.

"Did you do this Harry?"

Harry nodded, happy to see that Ron was content with what he given him. "Meow?" He looked from Hermione's plate to the witch expectantly.

Hermione blinked. "Oh! Thank you Harry, I really appreciate it. You put down everything I liked too." She flushed a little at the sight of scrambled eggs with cheese melted on it, a blueberry muffin, and half of an orange laid out methodically on her golden plate. "I didn't know you took such notice." She smiled warmly at him, then glared at Ron who was still blissfully stuffing his face. "I wish I could say the same for my supposed boyfriend."

"Huh?" Ron said around a mouthful of syrup slathered pancakes.

Hermione rolled her eyes and huffed: "Never mind it Ron."

Harry merely shrugged when Ron turned his baffled look on him. Now that his big brother and big sister – he started for a moment, where had that thought come from? But then quickly shrugged it off – were taken care of, he went to feed himself.

For some reason the food he'd normally eat didn't look as appetizing as it used to. _'Let's see, muffins? Blah. Sausages? Gah, Seamus just poured syrup on them, too sweet. Pancakes? Yuck, why did I ever like those again? Oooh, what do we have here?'_

Harry's eyes lit up at the sight of a platter of fruit, particularly on those juicy looking peaches. He plucked one from its place and tossed it in the air. Unsheathing his claws, he swiped at the peach in midair before it landed on his plate. For a heartbeat the peach stayed whole, before a quick tap on the table with Harry's claw caused it to fall apart into even slices and lay in a spiral pattern.

Several of the Gryffindor boy's clapped at the display while the girls cooed as Harry deftly popped each peach slice in his mouth and chewed happily. It was probably for the best that Harry was unaware of his housemate's antics, otherwise he'd be blushing as bright as Ron's hair at all of the attention.

After licking his claws clean and at the same time getting more yummy excess juice, Harry grabbed his goblet and sniffed at its contents. He couldn't help the excited "Mew!" that escaped his lips. Cream! A whole cup full of delicious, nutritious cream! Instead of drinking it directly out of the goblet however, Harry poured the delectable concoction into his empty plate and delicately lapped it up, purring loudly the entire time.

Girlish "Awww's" resounded around the table, but Harry was far to encompassed in his kitty bliss to notice.

"Er, I know this is probably nothing new to you guys," Dean said to Ron and Hermione, "but for the sake of the rest of us, who aren't quite as intimate with psychotic things happening to them, could you tell us what's gotten in to Harry here?"

The other Gryffindor's murmured and nodded their agreement. Hermione wiped her mouth with a napkin and then went rummaging in her backpack. "I have just the answer right here, at least I hope so." She pulled out a thick book titled: _The Everything_ _Cat Book: Everything you need to know about Magical Felines,_ and flipped through the pages as she spoke. "I knew I recognized katashean somewhere. I picked this up in Diagon Alley when I found out Crookshanks was part Kneazle, can't very well carry on feeding a magical cat creature _Meow Mix_, Ah, here we are!"

She gestured for the sixth years to lean in closer, and gave a "mind your own business you gossip mongers" glare to the other years, who hmphed and went back to their breakfast. When it became clear that Harry wouldn't put information about what he was above his cream, she moved it out of the way and bonked him on the head with a spoon.

"Rrow!"

"Don't you give me that look," Hermione said, wagging a finger at him. "You above everyone else, need to hear this."

"Just get to it 'Mione."

"All right, all right. Let's see, here's something: Katashean's (or Hell Cat's)," Hermione read, "are a type of half cat half human creature that is distantly related to cat youkai, the Japanese cat demon, and the wereleopard. Their diet consists of peaches, milk, cream, fish, and Eucalyptus leaves, and they love soft and colorful objects. Katashean are a nomadic species, and often travel in packs. The largest pack of katashean ever recorded consisted of over 265 members. Katashean are very affectionate and protective towards one another, particularly the kittens, within their respective packs. When there are few members in a pack, especially if it's the case where a member(s) has died, the remaining ones are twice as caring for each other as they normally would be..."

"So that's what Harry is?" Seamus mused.

Hermione had a contemplative look on her face, then her eyes widened as something dawned on her. "Ah."

"Ah, what?" Ron said impatiently.

"This explains Harry's...behavior in the Headmaster's office. He believes Professor Dumbledore's apart of his pack, right Harry?"

Harry nodded vigorously, then pointed at Ron and Hermione.

Hermione's eyebrows rose in shock. "Us too?"

Harry wrote his answer down on his notepad and handed it to her.

"Oh Harry," Hermione said after reading the messy script, eyes shining with unshed tears.

"What's it say?"

Hermione sniffed. "He says we're his big sister and big brother and he loves us."

"Is – is that true mate?" Ron asked, unable to hide the emotion in his voice.

In answer Harry jumped across the table and sat in between them, giving them both a one armed hug.

"Awwwwwwww!" Lavender Brown gushed.

Parvati Patil dabbed her eyes with a tissue. "That is _so_ sweet."

"Ah, see what it says about Harry's meowing," Ron said, obviously uncomfortable.

Hermione rolled her eyes and scanned down the page with her finger, then started reading again: "It say's here that Katashean are compatible with several different species, including humans (though it is rare for a katashean to mate with a muggle). During the late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds, the offspring of wizards and katashean flourished. But, for reasons Wizarding Biologists have yet to figure out, by the time the gene reaches the second generation it goes dormant, then randomly surfaces again many generations later. Unfortunately, there is no other way to tell if the gene will remain dormant until a wizard meets their fifteenth or sixteenth year, where the trait will manifest physically. Each manifestation is different; some are painful, while others are so unnoticeable that the katashean descendent is unaware of its affects until they actually see it –"

"I don't see what that has to do with his meowing."

"Shush Ron, I'm getting there.

"Now where was I? Ah...when a katashean descendent comes into their inheritance, it can take months, sometimes years before they adjust to their new instincts. A descendant's behavior, for instance, will often lapse into that of a cat, such as purring when happy, growling or hissing when angered, and meowing instead of speaking their normal tongue. When frightened or unhappy, their temperature tends to drop. How cold they become depends greatly on how upset they are, which is why many katashean and katashean half breeds have been known to die of hypothermia because of severe depression. As for their speech, usually the descendent regains the ability to talk in their native language two to three months after they have come into their inheritance, though it is likely for them to lapse back into the katashean language if they become heavily emotional."

**"So I have two months till I get to speak English again?"** Harry moaned. **"Wonderful."**

"Two months isn't so bad Harry," Hermione said, interpreting Harry's expression.

"What else does it say?" asked Seamus.

"A descendent also retains most of the katashean's magical abilities and strengths. Retractable claws, fangs, heightened senses, and night vision are some of the more common abilities passed down through this line. Descendents are also highly flexible and graceful, and can jump and land very far distances. They can conjure fire, (hence their nickname of Hell Cats) and some are known to manipulate other elements, but unlike the katashean, half breeds are unable to perform wandless magic."

"That's pretty cool," said Ron. "Have you tried using that fire magic yet Harry?"

Harry shook his head. **"If I knew how, I would've busted out of my room at the Dursley's the first chance I could."**

"I suppose it would be easier to grill a cheese sandwich once you learn," Ron said thoughtfully.

Harry looked at him as if he'd completely lost it, while Hermione tried to tell him that he may have translated Harry's words wrong.

"I don't think that's exactly what Harry said –"

"No, no, I think I'm really starting to understand what Harry's saying. You see 'Mione, Harry and I have come to a point in our lives where we don't need no fancy smancy words to communicate, right Harry?"

Harry chuckled. **"Whatever you say Ron."**

Ron stared at him blankly for a moment. "Well, I don't know what that has to do with your underwear riding up, but I understand completely!"

"Miaw?"  
"Oh look! This seems interesting!" Hermione interrupted before Ron could embarrass Harry further. "When the katashean, this including descendents, finds a mate they are fiercely loyal and caring towards them, especially if they are a submissive (they're identified by the slight glow in their skin and short stature)."

"That sounds like you mate," Ron said, patting a very disgruntled Harry on the back sympathetically.

"Wait, Harry may be a munchskin," Harry growled, "...er I mean vertically challenged, but he's not glowing or anything."

"That's why he's wearing the collar Seamus," said Ron, "to keep the light bulb in his head off."

Harry's head dropped to the table with a dull thud. Hermione shot all of the laughing boys a glare that could melt steel, sufficiently shutting them up.

"I'm sure its not all that bad Harry," Hermione soothed. "Let's see what else it says:

"Once a male or female submissive reaches sexual maturity, which is about eighteen or nineteen for half breeds (under that the katashean is still considered a kitten), both sexes have the ability to produce offspring. They usually have litters of up to eight to ten kittens, but their have been a few known to birth fifteen (all surviving)..."

"Meow, meow, meow!" Harry said, pressing his ears flat against his head with his hands. **"Stop, stop stop!"** Children – kittens rather – sounded nice and all, but now was definitely not the time to here the process of having them, especially since he was now capable of going through something like that.

"Okay, okay, I'll skip that part. Alright...The influx of cross breading did little to deter the Katashean's numbers, as it continued to climb for several decades. That is until the rise of The Dark Sorcerer Daemeon. This particular dark wizard was known for his constant search for ways to increase his power and that of his followers. One of his most famous power sources were from submissive katashean. In order to transfer the submissive's magic into himself, Daemeon had to – Oh my."

"What? What's it say?" said Dean.

"Yeah, tell us!"

Hermione passed the book silently to Ron, who read through the passage with wide eyes. "Bloody hell," he muttered.

"C'mon guys, what does it say?" Seamus got up from his seat and tried to look over Ron's shoulder, but the red head covered the book and gave him a fierce scowl for his trouble. "Nose out Finnigan"

While Ron was distracted, Harry took that time to pluck the book out of his hand and read what all the fuss was about.

_...Dameon had to perform forceful intercourse with them. Like most powers taken by participants that are unwilling, the magic lasted for a limited time. Since most would die days after being tortured and raped, Daemeon would capture thousands of submissive katashean at a time. Because of this katashean numbers plummeted, and after Daemeon's defeat the magical cat creatures were nearly extinct. Currently, small packs of katashean are spread out all over the globe and are rarely..._

Harry pushed the book out of the way, face pale and feeling rather ill all of a sudden. Of all the ways to steal someone's power...what if a student here learned of this, hell what if Voldemort...Harry shuddered. He refused to finish that thought, it was just too terrible.

"We wouldn't let anyone do that to you mate," Ron said lowly, Hermione nodding determinedly next to him.

**"Thanks guys,"** Harry said gratefully, and this time even Ron got the message.

Harry looked around for a change of subject. The other tables were still "discreetly" ogling him, but it was Slytherin that caught his interest. Their seemed to be a split among the House, as Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, Crabbe, and Goyle were all sitting on one side and the rest of them were sitting on the other.

_"What's up with the Slytherin's."_ Harry wrote.

Hermione waved him closer and whispered in his ear, "The Malfoy's have switched sides. Ron and I saw Mr. Malfoy attending the Order meetings while we were at Grmmauld Place. Draco even came by a couple of times."

Before Harry could fully analyze the implication of this the bell rang.

Classes were a nightmare. Today seemed to be "call on Harry for answers" day, and the only way to keep from getting points taken away was to "meow" at them till they got the message. It was all really embarrassing, seeing as everyone seemed to find his literal speech impediment sooooooo bloody amusing, and working his last nerve.

And all of the noise! Why in Merlin's name did everyone think that just because he couldn't talk he couldn't hear either? If he tried, Harry could hear a pin dropping into the Lake outside all the way from the Astronomy Tower. So his hearing was just fine and dandy, though it wouldn't be much longer if one more person yelled into his ear asking if said ear was real or not.

But, compared to Potions everything else was a piece of pie. The moment he sat down in his usual seat next to Ron and Hermione, Snape rounded on him, taking points for being late (forget the fact that he was on time) and for future mishaps he was likely to be the cause of.

"Potter!" Snape barked suddenly in the middle of class. It was lucky that he hadn't snuck up on Harry and shouted like he usually did, otherwise they'd be spending the rest of the period trying to peel a very frazzled katashean off of the dungeons high ceiling. "I see that your attention hounding needs have still yet to be satisfied," the greasy Potions Master sneered, eyeing his cat ears and tail disdainfully. "Tell me, what is the key ingredient to a Dreamless Sleep Potion?"

Harry smiled inwardly. Despite that question having absolutely nothing to do with the potion they were creating now, he actually knew this one. _'Ha! Me and Dreamless sleep are as close as white on rice.'_ He scribbled his answer on a piece of parchment, and then lifted it over his head. **UNICORN TEARS** was written on it in large capital letters.

Not unexpectedly, the sneer on Snape's face didn't relent, but rather turned into a scowl. "Ten points from Gryffindor Potter. I told you to _answer_ my question, not write it down."

"But Professor, you know he can't –"

"That's enough Ms. Granger, unless you'd like to loose even more points from your pathetic House?"

"Meow, miaw, meow, meow, mreow, meow, miaw," Harry said with a serene smile on his face. **"Some day Snape, I'm going to take a rusty spoon and use it to scoop out your eye balls like the divinest of strawberry ice cream."**

Snape merely gave him one of his patent glares, apparently at a loss on what to say to a string of what sounded like mewing. Feeling eyes on him, Harry turned to the Slytherin side of the room and saw Malfoy giving him a look that was a mixture of horror and confusion.

_'What's the matter with him?'_ Harry thought, furrowing his brow. _'He must have heard me meowing in Care of Magical Creatures, it can't be that much of a surprise.'_

Harry shrugged to himself and went back to his potion work.

Little more happened till class began to draw to an end. Harry's sensitive ears twitched and turned at every sound, though he had learned a while ago how to block out most of the 'background' noise, so to speak, and keep focused on one thing at a time. However, a conversation at the Slytherin side of the room flitted in through his blockade piquied his kitty curiosity:

"...This'll teach Malfoy which side is the right side," he heard what he recognized as Theodore Nott's voice whisper maliciously. Harry turned and spotted the boy snickering and preparing to toss something that was most definitely not supposed to be tossed into Malfoy's potion while the blonde aristocrat wasn't looking. Those uncontrollable instincts started to kick in at that and before he knew what he was doing Harry leapt from his seat and hopped from table to table. He dove at Nott and knocked him backwards to the floor. Harry hissed, feeling anger build up in him, raised one hand above his head and unsheathed his claws. He was about to use the now trembling Slytherin as a human scratching post, but a moan caught his attention.

Apparently Malfoy and Zabini had been startled out of their seats when Harry came diving from seemingly no where. He was going to go check on them when an ominous hissing sounded.

_'Crap, I forgot about the potion!'_

The potion he had been trying to prevent from exploding so bad started to overflow. Once again, he found himself pouncing, this time on a very disoriented blond aristocrat who was just trying to get back to his feet.

BOOM!

A stream of electric blue goo shot into the air before coming down in a gloppy shower all over Malfoy's work station, melting his cauldron and the rest of his utensils.

"Potter," Malfoy began slowly, "if it's not too much trouble, would you mind GETTING THE FUCK OFF OF ME!"

Harry scurried off Malfoy's chest and helped him up. "Meow, meow, meow?" he queried as he brushed off Malfoy's robes and scanned every inch of his body for injuries.

"No, none of that blue gunk touched me..."

"Meow, meow?"

"Well I might have broken bones _now_ since you had the bright idea of tackling me!" Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Merlin Potter, if this is how you go about saving people I think they'd have a better chance fending for themselves against the Dark Lord."

Ignoring Malfoy's jibes, Harry went on double, double checking the taller boy for anything that could be out of place. He hadn't the slightest clue why, but the very thought that Malfoy might be hurting made Harry's heart ache and his breathing to come up in short, panicked, gasps.

Malfoy placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, and his grey eyes softened just the tiniest bit. "Hey, Potter, calm down all right," he said, his tone less caustic then before. "I'm fine, your hero complex kicked in at the right time for once...Jesus Potter will you breathe already?"

Harry tried to listen but it was much harder then it should've been. He held the hand on his shoulder to use as a stabilizer. His gasps slowed, and soon there weren't any at all.

Snape stalked over to there area at the moment and cleaned up the mess with a wave of his wand. He helped a blue gunk covered Nott up and shoved him at one of the other SLytherins to escort to the Hospital Wing.

"Do I really need to ask who's responsible for this?" Without giving anyone a chance to explain, he barked: "Forty points from Gryffindor, Potter. Another incident like this and I won't hesitate to give you detention for two weeks."

Harry sighed. Even if he could talk, it was doubted the Potions Professor would listen.

Malfoy hesitated for a moment, then said: "Actually sir, Nott was the one –"

BRING! BRING!

The bell tolled. Harry shook his head at Malfoy in an indicator to "let it go". Even if Nott were to take the blame, there was no way in hell Snape was going to give back points that he himself had taken.

"Harry, I know we went through this last night and all but are you _completely_ out of your mind?" Ron said once Harry caught up with his two friends.

"Rrow," Harry growled lowly.

"I mean, Dumbledore, I can sort of understand. But Malfoy, MALFOY? You should've let his ferret ass fry!"

Harry shook his head and sighed, folding his ears as far as they could go without having to press them down with his hands. Maybe his big brother would shout himself into another subject after some healthy ranting.

His ears popped up curiously as he caught sight of Hermione, who was staring at him through narrowed speculative eyes. "Mew?"

"Malfoy certainly didn't seem to have much trouble understanding you. I wonder why that is?"

_'Good question.'_ Actually, Malfoy had understood his every word, which would explain why he looked so disturbed after Harry'd given that private "threat" to Snape. _'Lovely, I've suddenly turned into a submissive cat creature and the only one who can hear what I'm saying is Malfoy. There's only one reasonable explanation for all of this...God hates me.'_

He didn't eat anything at lunch and once dinner rolled around, all he could manage was a few sips of milk, this time drunken from the goblet. Last summer's starvation hadn't been as controlled as they usually were. The Dursley's were so frightened of him that most of the time they couldn't even get two feet in front of his locked door before dropping the bowl of watered down soup and hightailing it.

That had been pure torture, trying to reach the almost empty bowl by sticking his arm through the cat flap in his door and only able to touch it with his fingertips.

Now with no barricades to keep him from his nourishment, Harry found he couldn't take another bite of the yummy salmon without throwing it up all over the table. _'Maybe I shouldn't have eaten so much at breakfast.'_ To many a peach and a bit of cream could hardly be considered a lot, but when your stomach was the size of a shriveled raisin then a peach and some cream was a friggin' cuisine.

"You aren't going to eat anything else Harry?" Hermione said as Harry pushed his plate aside.

Harry shook his head, not up to giving an excuse through writing. He simply put his head down on the table and tried to block out the constant drone that was the student body chattering.

"Did you here what happened in Snape's N.E.W.T's prep class?"

"Yeah, Potter saved Malfoy."

"Potter saved him, I thought he attacked him?"

"Attack makes more sense."

"He's a cat monster, maybe he tried to eat him!"

Harry groaned. When would it all stop?

One of Harry's ears twitched and flicked backwards as the sound of footsteps heading towards their table. He quickly lifted his head and sat up straight by the time Professor McGonagall reached him.

"You three, the Headmaster wishes to see you," she said in her usual clipped tone.

"Yes professor," said Ron and Hermione. Harry just nodded.

When the trio arrived it wasn't just the Headmaster that greeted them.

"What are _you_ doing here Malfoy?" Ron spat.

"Now, now, Mr. Weasley, no need for arguments before we've even started the discussion," Dumbledore said placidly.

"Please don't be too angry at the Weasel, Headmaster, you know how hard it is for paupers to act amongst civilized company," Malfoy drawled.

"Why you son of a –"

Hermione and Harry grabbed both of Ron's arms before he could launch himself at the arrogant blonde. Malfoy didn't flinch though. He sat back languidly in his seat sipping tea the Headmaster likely offered him, staring at the scene the trio made through cool eyes.

"That is enough! All of you!" Ron immediately stopped struggling against Harry and Hermione at the Headmaster's glare. "This childish behavior is unacceptable. I would've expected better of two Prefects, perhaps the title was wrongfully appointed?"

Ron bowed his head, properly abashed. "No sir, sorry."

"I apologize Headmaster"

"Right, now that, that's settled, would you three care for a spot of tea, or a lemon drop, or both?"

Ron and Hermione declined and sat down. Harry, now that Ron wasn't hindering him with his bursts of anger, stepped behind Dumbledore's oval desk and unabashedly gave him a hug.

The Headmaster chuckled, but made no move to push him away. "And how are you today Harry? I trust your classes went well?"

**"It was fine grandpapa,"** Hrry said, ignoring Malfoy's snort at his reply.

"I'll take that as a yes. Now let's get down to the "nitty-gritty", shall we?" He pulled out a long rolled up piece of fabric from his sleeve and laid it out in front of him. Harry hopped onto the Headmsters lap so he could see it better. The heading on the crimson fabric was sewn in golden letters, which read: "La mort avant le déshonneur."

**"What does that mean?"** he asked, receiving a just as confused look from the Headmaster. _'Oh, right. He can't understand me.'_

"It means Death Before Dishonr, Potter," Malfoy answered instead. "How...Gryffindor."

"Right you are, Mr. Malfoy. Five points to Slytherin for excellent linguistic skills. This, as you all can see, is the Potter's family tapestry. I've looked through it thoroughly, but I didn't see any sign of katashean blood or any katshean in the Potter line."

"So...does that mean Harry isn't a katashean?" Ron said uncertainly.

"No, he has too many of their characteristics to be anything else," said Hermione.

"But professor Dumbledore just said there wasn't and katashean in the Potter family."

"Yes, not in the Potter family." Hermione turned her intelligent eyes on the Headmaster. "Would you happen to have Harry's mum family tree sir?"

"I see Miss Granger has figured things out already, five points to Gryffindor," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling merrily. "And no, I don't have any records of the Evan's line. The only one who would have even a little information on Lily's heritage would be Harry's Aunt Petunia Dursley, though I doubt any muggle documents or such would have anything katashean or magically related."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Ron said, looking from Hermione to Dumbledore with a furrowed brow. "I thought Harry's mum was muggle born. There can't be any katashean blood on her side."

"Honestly, were you paying _any_ attention to me at breakfast?" Hermione held up a hand when Ron was obviously about to say "of course" when he hadn't. "Never mind. The book said that it was _rare_ for katashean to breed with muggles, not that it wasn't possible. So apparently one of Mrs. Potter's ancestors was either katashean or had katashean blood in them, right Professor?"

"That is what I assume," said Dumbledre, "but, that is a mystery that will have to be dealt with another time, right now we have another matter to attend to.

"As you all know, with Mr. Potter's katashean inheritance comes the slight problem in the communication department."

Harry snorted. **"Understatement of the year."**

"This is where Mr. Malfoy comes in. He is the only one in the school presently who can understand Harry, correct?"

"For the most part, yes," Malfoy said guardedly.

Hermione nodded as if she'd known this was coming, which she had, Ron however, was staring at Malfoy with his mouth hanging open.

"But, his words don't even differentiate! All he says is "meow" or "miaw", how the hell can you translate _that_ into English?"

Harry glared at his big brother. **"Hey! I can too say different words."**

"First of all, I happen to have some katashean blood in me, so I understand him just fine. Second, Potter says he resents your lack of faith in his articulation. And third," Malfoy smirked, "I doubt you could spell differentiate, let alone comprehend its meaning."

"Shut it Malfoy! Before I –"

"Getting back on topic," Dumbledore interrupted, "I'm appointing Mr. Malfoy as Harry's official translator for...did it state how long Harry wouldn't be able to speak Miss Granger?"

"Two to three months sir, so either early late September or early October."

"Right, for two to three months then you will both have to have to be in the same classes, I'll leave it up to you both to compromise which ones you be joining and leaving, and you'll also have to share a room –"

"What?" Ron exploded, jumping out of his seat. "Sir, Harry cannot stay with the Slytherin's, they'll kill him the moment he steps through the door!"

"And I suppose the virtuous Gryffindor's wont do the exact same to me, Weasel?" Malfoy said snidely.

"At least they won't stab you in the back!"

"Back, front...either way, I'm still getting stabbed!"

"Gentlemen, sit down this instant!"

Malfoy and Ron glared at each other for a moment longer, then did as the Headmaster ordered, murmuring their apologies.

"Now, another outburst like that and I will be forced to start taking points off, is that understood?"

"Yes sir," they said in unison.

"Good. Now I wasn't planning on putting either of you in each others Houses, as I am aware of the fierce animosity some of the Gryffindor's feel for Draco and the real danger Harry would be in if he were to reside near certain Slytherin's. Therefore, I've prepared a room of your own that the two of you shall share."

"Sir, surely there's another way –"

"But sir! That isn't fair –"

"No, it isn't," Dumbledore once again had to interrupt the two, "but I'm afraid you're going to just have to deal with it. This poses as the perfect excuse to get Mr. Malfoy out of Slytherin, since I know some of your Housemates have been rather aggressive towards you after your family switched sides."

"I can take care of myself," Malfoy grumbled stubbornly.

However, this was the Headmaster they were dealing with, and when he made a decision there was usually no choices in the matter. "Be that as it may, I think it best to let Slytherin cool down a bit before you join them again. And as for Harry, well, I'm afraid you're going to have to grin and bear this one my boy."

Harry shrugged. He didn't really mind the change that much. It was only for a month or two, and as much as he loved Gryffindor House they were a loud bunch even without his advanced hearing. Some peace and quiet would do his head good, even if that was to be enjoyed in the presence of Draco Malfoy.

_'You didn't seem to mind him all that much when you jumped him in Potions.'_

He wanted to chalk that incident up to his katashean instincts, but deep down he knew there was more to it then that.

That train of thought was cut off soon enough though, as the Headmaster had decided at that point to caress that wonderful spot behind his ears that turned him into a puddle of purring goo.

"Well, I think all of that is settled then." He snapped his fingers and a House elf in garbed in the Hogwarts tea towel appeared and bowed. "Tibby, could you please escort these two young men to their new rooms."

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore sir."

"I think it best you all head off to bed, wouldn't want Argus to catch you at this time of night," Dumbledore said, twinkling like mad. "Come now Harry, I'm sure a bed would be much comfier then my lap by a long shot."

Harry sighed, but conceded this to be true. Grandpapa's beard was fluffy and warm, but unfortunately his lap was very bony and incomparable to a bed. He gave him a final hug, and was very happy to feel it being returned, then trotted off after the others.

"Shouldn't the two of you be heading towards Gryffindor Tower, surely it'll cut into your make out time?" Malfoy said, smirking.

"We just want to make sure Harry arrives to his room safely," Hermione said, not at all deterred by the blonde's taunt.

Ron jabbed a threatening finger at Malfoy's chest. "And you'd better not try anything funny to him once you get in there," he growled.

Malfoy pushed the finger aside and regarded Ron with that bored air he was so good at. "As if I'd try and harm a single hair on the precious Golden Boy's head, I do happen to value my life Weasel."

Ron snorted. "Excuse me if I fear you may get any uncontrollable urges to do it anyway!"

Harry pressed his ears down against his head with his hands and sighed. **"It's going to be a LONG couple of months."**

And though it was Malfoy who could understand him word for word, Hermione was the one who deciphered Harry's meaning without a problem. "I couldn't agree with you more Harry, I couldn't agree with you more."

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Chapter three complete Yata! Hope you enjoyed.

The Magicians Wish


	4. Chapter: FOUR

**Kitty, Kitty…Meow!**

By: The Magicians Wish

Disclaimer: Don't own anything that's got to do with

Summary: On his sixteenth birthday, Harry (surprise, surprise) comes into his inheritance and has turned into some type of human/cat creature. How will he get through his sixth year with all of these ridiculous new instincts warring with his human ones? And what's this bullcrap about him wanting to have a mate? Will his friends ever accept them, or will Harry lose everyone on both sides?

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**Chapter**: **FOUR**

"I don't care how much you like that oaf of a teacher, there's no way I'm changing Care of Magical Creatures with Ancient Runes."

"Merow," Harry grumbled, but didn't argue any longer.

Malfoy smirked triumphantly. "Stop complaining, it'll only be for two months." He turned his attention back to their schedules. "Right, Transfiguration stays, Potions stays; hmm...let's trade Divination for Arithmacy."

"Meow, meow!" Harry protested with a growl.

"I'm choosing everything because all of these classes are NEWT prep, and will insure that I get high marks on the exams."

"Merow!"

"And what about you Potter?" Malfoy drawled indifferently. "I'm not going to sacrifice my grades just because you don't feel like putting a little effort into your work."

Things had been going on in this vein for the past hour. When the two first arrived in their new room, they had both agreed that they should sort their schedules out now since they still had to attend classes in the morning. That was the last bit of amicability they shared though, as Malfoy didn't take much of Harry's opinion into account and Harry didn't want to cooperate out of spite.

Malfoy rolled his eyes heaven ward and let out a long suffering sigh. "Since I'd like to go to sleep sometime this year, I'll make you a deal; you can keep your precious Care of Magical Creatures if you change Divination to Ancient Runes."

Harry's ears twitched happily. Ancient Runes weren't so bad as long as he studied, and he was getting tired of Trelawney moaning that "his nine lives would soon be up!"

"Meow." **That's fine with me.**

They made the last markings on their respective schedules, then started to clean up the mess they made on the floor. Well, Harry cleaned up while Malfoy proclaimed haughtily, "I'm not a damn House Elf, you take care of it," and then retreated to his bed.

Harry crawled into his own bed on the other side of the room. It was an exact replica of the one he had in his dormitory, small drool stain on the pillows and everything. In fact, the whole room was decorated with a Gryffindor, Slytherinish style. The door that was on Malfoy's side of the room led into a sitting room that had Gryffindor furniture on one side and Slytherin on the other. It was the same with their bathroom as well, and both he and Malfoy agreed that all of the House pride was kind of creepy...and made for very tacky décor.

Harry yawned, turning in a circle in much the same way he had the night before. He froze in the midst of his third turn when he caught Malfoy staring at him, smirking as if it were a permanent fixture on his arrogant face.

In an act of childishness that he couldn't seem to suppress, Harry blew a long raspberry and then yanked his hangings closed.

_'Yeah, I'm sure Malfoy'll be reeling for days after that comeback,'_ Harry thought sulkily. _'Stupid Malfoy, why does he have to be the one to understand me? I guess it could be worse though, it could be Snape.'_

An image of himself with a chain around his collar and that nailed to the dungeon wall while Snape held a bowl of peaches just out of his reach and laughing maniacally at him popped into his head.

He shuddered violently at the thought, but, oddly enough, the lovely visage of a one Draco Malfoy dispelled any more creepy scenarios involving Snape, and soothed him into a dreamless sleep.

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The weeks following Harry and Malfoy's rescheduling were...interesting to say the least.

Classes weren't getting any easier, as Harry found himself becoming more and more distracted by the most ridiculous things. He couldn't resist following the light that caught off of professor Flitwick's glasses, for instance. Nor could he stop himself from getting tangled in all of professor Sprouts Devils Snare, since he had found it great fun chewing and batting at the agitated vines.

The students weren't letting up either. At first Harry thought that this whole Katashean thing would blow over once everyone got used to his new appendages. In actuality it was the complete opposite. The gossipmongers continued to do as they did best and whispered about him at every turn, while those who were suddenly dubbing him as a dark creature had decided that action needed to be taken and made many attempts to put him out of commission.

He didn't mind this so much since Ron and Hermione had his back mostly, and no one dared to try and jump him when Malfoy was around (for fear of accidentally injuring him and thus incurring the Slytherin Prince's wrath). What scared him most were the people who approached him in a more...intimate manor.

For whatever reason, a good portion of Hogwarts' guys and girls seemed to now find him rather attractive. At first it was the stares, which Harry had easily dismissed as them gaping at his ears and tail. He wasn't anything to look at after all, being all short and puny as he was...

But, that hadn't stopped a seventh year Ravenclaw from shoving him behind a suit of armor and snogging him silly about three days ago. After getting over his initial shock Harry quickly shoved the boy away, just barely restraining himself from clawing his eyes out.

Since then it was like a _grope Harry free for all_, because no one seemed to remember how to keep their hands to themselves.

The whole thing had Harry rightly terrified! He was so scared that someone was going to rape him for his powers, and it wasn't as if it weren't a possibility. He knew that Hermione had burnt the page in her book that had discussed Dameon's "battle tactics", but it wasn't as if she found the book in the Restricted Section, or in some ancient artifacts store where it was the only copy in existence. It was sold in Flourish and Blotts for Merlin's sake! And it was an inexpensive cat book...A. CAT. BOOK! How many people in Hogwarts had cats? How many in the Wizarding world?

The very thought of it almost sent Harry hyperventilating.

For once Harry was grateful for Ron and Hermione's tendency to become overprotective. They couldn't be around him all the time, but when someone was unlucky enough to approach him while in his big brother and sister's presence, they were likely to find themselves knocked out cold by a hex or a fist to the face.

"Bloody lechers," Ron growled, glaring daggers at a seventh year Slytherin who was eyeing Harry like a succulent steak.

It was Thursday afternoon and Ron and Hermione were kindly escorting Harry to his Charms class. Normally it would be Malfoy in their place, but when the Slytherin went to pick him up from their table in the middle of lunch, Hermione had insisted that Harry stay a little longer until he ate more.

"It isn't healthy to eat only one meal a day, Harry," she had lectured. "Besides, the only meal you do eat isn't enough to satisfy a canary! You are not leaving that spot until your plate is clean mister!"

Malfoy had scoffed Hermione's mother hening. The two soon descended into an argument, which Hermione won because Malfoy didn't want to be late for class.

Harry held tightly to Ron's arm and hurried him forward, away from the leering fellow. His admirer's may be hesitant to accost him with his friends around, but that didn't stop them from undressing him with their eyes.

"We'll see you at dinner then Harry," Hermione said once they reached Flitwick's room. Since the rescheduling Harry only had three classes with his friends; Potions, Transfiguration, and Care of Magical Creatures. On the plus side of things, Harry seemed to commit less embarrassing acts in those classes then the rest of them.

With a hug from Hermione and a scratch behind the ears from Ron (Ron's awkwardness about giving hugs and such was obliterated once Hermione had hinted that physical affection was very good for a growing Katashean.), they shooed Harry inside and made there way to their own classes.

"Hey Potter, why don't you bring that fine arse over this way, huh?" Nott called amidst the hoots and catcalls coming from his little _'Death Eater in training'_ entourage.

"Now that's hardly sporting of you Theo," another Slytherin mock whined, "you can't just keep him all to yourself."

Nott clapped the Slytherin on the back good-naturedly. "Wouldn't dream of it Bletchley. After all, we know how wonderful Potter has become at..._sharing._"

Harry plopped down in a seat next to Malfoy, face going an even deeper shade of red as the Nott and his Slytherin's laughed their black hearts out.

"Enjoying the attention, Potter?" Malfoy said with a sneer.

Harry glared at the Slytherin out of the corner of his eye. **"I know, who wouldn't want to be sexually harassed all day every day?"** he grumbled. **"I'm a kid in a candy store."**

"What did Potter have to say this time?" said Blaise Zabini from his place on the other side of Malfoy.

"He said he _liked_ being sexually harassed - OW!"

Malfoy gaped at Harry incredulously, placing a hand on the back of his head where the Katashean had smacked him soundly. Harry lifted his nose in the air and crossed his arms, feeling the move was well deserved. Malfoy's friends snickered at him as he came out of his shock and started to turn a bit red in anger.

But before the blond Slytherin could retaliate in any way Professor Flitwick entered and class begun.

Today they would be practicing a fun yet surprisingly complicated spell called the _music in the air_ charm.

"Not a particularly useful spell if you want to defend yourself in a duel," Flitwick chuckled, "but it's great for dinner parties, and if you want some relaxing atmosphere while you study."

The incantation had to be said first, which was; _"usicmay!"_ Then the wand movements had to be initiated in quick succession. "up, down, left, right, left – make sure you don't get that backwards – a sharp arc going down, then PUNCTURE!" the diminutive wizard did this slowly first, then had the whole class do it as well.

"Excellent, excellent! Now, I'll show you what it's supposed to look like first hand, then the rest of you can give it a go." Flitwick tapped his wand against his beard, clearly thinking of what piece of music he was going to use. He nodded to himself and then confidently shouted the incantation. To most of the students, Flitwick's arm was practically a blur as he completed the spell. Harry was once again glad for his heightened vision, for he doubted that he'd even be able to catch anything but the last thrusting motion if he weren't a katashean.

Musical notes floated above Flitwick's head as Beethoven's Fur Elise sounded in the room. He swayed a bit to the music, smiling goofily and wagging his finger as if it were a conducting baton.

_"Finite Incantatem,"_ he said a bit sadly. "Right, now the rest of you try."

Harry, expecting a cacophony sound to suddenly belt within their cubicle of a classroom, covered his ears and put his head down as if the music was a tangible force to take cover from. As it turned out few people could seem to master the speedy wand movements – much to Harry's relief, and so all he could hear was a soft lullaby from the far left side of the room, a country sounding ditty in the back, Gioacchino Rossini's _The Barber of Seville_ coming from Malfoy's area, and the irritated grumblings from the unsuccessful students.

Feeling particularly perky at this turn of events, Harry meowed his incantation and executed the wand movements. Soon he was happily "boogying down" to Eurythmic's Sweet Dreams, a song he'd heard only once in his life and had popped into his head for reasons unknown.

Malfoy gave him a disgusted look. "Have you no class, Potter?"

Harry grinned before "Finite Incantatem-ing" his spell and starting up some David Bowie. **"Nope.** **Not even a little."**

Harry went through three more songs before boredom set in. He scanned the place for entertainment, but alas, Flitwick's room had little to no interesting trinkets to play with...unless of course one counted Flitwick himself, but he'd already lost points for pulling at a loose thread on the impish man's robe, which had eventually left him in not but his smiley face covered boxers.

"Damn spell," he heard Zabini curse, who was the one of many that hadn't produced any music from his wand. His eyes found themselves fixated on the tall dark boy. To any one else, Harry's unblinking stare may have been taken as a predator patiently waiting for his prey to weaken before pouncing. Really though, he was just studying Zabini's hands, critically examining his every move until...there it was! Instead of moving his wand left, right then left, he went left, right, left then right again.

He was about to tell Zabini of his mistake, but stopped himself before he could mew nonsensically. He could always tap Malfoy and use him as a translator, but he didn't feel like dealing with the aristocrat's haughtiness. There was only one thing he could do. _'Meh, it's not like I'm so very preoccupied at this moment.'_

Harry snaked his tail under the table, past Malfoy, then brought it up so he could wrap it around Zabini's wrist. Shocked, the Slytherin's hand stilled immediately, and so made it easy for Harry to jerk his wrist around in the correct wand maneuver.

Zabini, still in a daze, repeated the movement when Harry let go. This time musical notes of his own appeared above his head and the sound of a violin solo emanated.

The Slytherin blinked at him in understandable confusion, but all Harry offered him was a grin and thumbs-up.

Just before Harry could start contemplating doing something drastic to alleviate his boredom, like transfigure his quill into a mouse and chase it around the room for instance, the bell rang.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Since that day Harry found himself becoming Malfoy and his crew's faux guardian angel, so to speak. He hadn't realized how bad the rest of Slytherin House was picking on them for switching sides, though he supposed he should have expected it. Voldemort's followers' wasn't likely to take defection from His cause very lightly.

One day during Care of Magical Creatures, while the class was having a fun time shoveling Gryffin dung out of Hagrid's paddock for a bit of "hands on experience" as their COMC teacher so eloquently put it, Parkinson was just walking towards a large pile of the aftermath of a Gryffin's digestive system, shovel slung over her shoulder, when a Tripping Jinx struck her on the legs.

Luckily, Harry was in the vicinity and hooked his tale on the back of her collar, catching Parkinson before she landed face first in the pile of Gryffin compost.

Another time Harry had to run all the way from Gryffindor table at lunch to stop Crabbe, Goyle, and Bulstrode from sitting down in a glop of translucent sticking potion, having smelled something un-food related near that area.

And on that same day, while he, Malfoy and Zabini were walking down the halls towards Ancient Runes, Harry heard a distant whisper of _"Diffindo!"_ before knocking the two unsuspecting Slytherins to the side. A wave of silvery air rushed past the spot they had all been standing the next second later, slicing an innocent suit of armor in two when it reached the end of the corridor.

Harry glared at Nott, Bletchley, and two Slytherin seventh years that he didn't recognize, who were a ways behind them that were undoubtedly the culprits of the cutting curse.

"Fucking Potter, you just have to ruin everything don't you?" Bletchley sneered.

"And I was _sooo_ looking forward to traitor shish kabob too," Nott drawled nonchalantly, but they could all tell he was angry their plan hadn't worked.

Harry hissed and crouched down in preparation to pounce, ears pressed back and fangs protruding dangerously. **"You won't be saying that once I gut you like a trout and drink your blood!"**

Unfortunately, before Harry could jump the bastards and tear out their jugulars, Malfoy grabbed him around the waist. "I doubt they'll be able to say much of _anything_ after you do that Potter," Malfoy said with an amused smirk.

"That's right Malfoy, keep your pet under control," said one of the seventh years.

Harry let out a roar that caused Nott and his following to jump in surprised fear, and Malfoy to almost let go of him. Harry struggled, clawing at the air in an effort to get closer to his prey. **"Just come a little closer, I won't murder you, I promise."**

"Well, I think it's about time we get to class," Malfoy said over Harry's hissing and angry/crazed meows, slinging the small boy over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He gave each of his cowering House mates a polite nod, then said in the most gentlemanly manner, "Till we meet again...ladies."

The three left the fuming Slytherin's to their angry sputtering.

-----------------------------------------------------------

The month dragged on with tons of homework and time consuming studying, so it was no surprise that few people acknowledged that it was the first of October.

Draco was one of those people who was aware of the date however, as he had been counting down the days till his position as Potter's little translator was over.

"What are you doing there, Draco?" Pansy queried, looking over his shoulder.

Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle, and Millicent had decided to escort Draco back to his rooms after a looooooong ass lesson of Astronomy class. None of them would admit it out loud, but they knew that without Potters enhanced senses it was likely they could get ambushed by their fellow eager to please the Dark Lord House mates, even with the six of them together.

Draco slashed a satisfying red X across the first of October on the makeshift calendar he had pressed against his forearm. Just thirty one more days before he was free of that bothersome katashean.

"Reminding myself, dear Pansy," he said as he tucked the parchment neatly into his robe pocket, "that my days with the Golden Boy will eventually come to an end."

"What do you have against Potter anyway Malfoy?" Crabbe asked, his confused expression giving way to his sincerity.

Draco narrowed his eyes. "I'm not even going to deem that idiotic question with an answer."

"You know," Blaise spoke after a moment of silence, "he does have a point."

"What!" Draco shouted incredulously.

"Well he has been helping us out a lot lately," Pansy hurriedly picked up where Blaise left off.

"Potter warned me that Higgs and Vaisey were going to switch my Levitating Potion for an Ear Mucus one, and Snape was going to test them himself that day!" said Blaise.

"He helped me when Thomas Urquhart put a Scabies Hex on my feet," Millicent put in quietly.

"He stopped Nott and his ruffians from spilling irremovable paint all over my brand new skirt!" said Pansy with a slight huff.

"He helped Vince and me with our Transfiguration homework," Goyle piped, Crabbe nodded furiously by his side.

Draco looked at all of his supposed friends staring at him expectantly. He glowered at them all. _'Bleedin' bunch of traitors!'_ he thought vindictively. "I'm sure he's only doing it for something in return."

Pansy folded her arms across her chest and gave him a challenging glare. "Really now, and what exactly is he expecting hmm? If you refuse to translate for him all he has to do is report your disobedience back to Dumbledore. And it isn't as if you've been anymore civil towards him, even though he's helped _you_ out of few scrapes as well."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Honestly, you lot are acting like a bunch of Gryffindors! We may not know what his motives are at the moment but there's not reason to think that he doesn't _have_ one..."

"Or, or," Blaise said, holding up a finger before Draco could continue with his sentence, "he could just be a..." he shrugged, "nice guy."

Pansy's eyes narrowed at Draco, a smidgen of disdain in her gaze. "You know Draco," she drawled, "it's all fine and good to be a jerk to someone when you have a _reason_ to be so, but without one it truly just makes you look bad...in every ones eyes.

It didn't seem Draco was going to win this debate, if his friends glares were anything to go by, which made him even angrier since he almost always won any argument they had to throw at him. He threw his arms in the air exasperatedly, then walked a bit ahead of the other Slytherin's. "So what do you want me to do, join the rest of you in kissing the Boy-Who-Lived's privileged arse?"

Pansy, having matched Draco's hurried steps, stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder and gently turning him around to face her. "No one is asking you to kiss his privileged arse."

"He's got plenty of people lining up to do that for him," Blaise added.

"So what do you want from me?"

"Nothing, nothing!" said Pansy soothingly. She straightened up his tie, even though it was just as immaculate as the rest of his attire, and grabbed him by both shoulders. "Just that you stop the unnecessary nastiness while he's stopping people from humiliating you at the same time. Believe me; it only looks bad on your part."

Draco sighed. "Fine," he said petulantly.

"So does this mean you'll be Potter's friend?" Crabbe said hopefully.

"Merlin above, hell fucking no!"

The all laughed, and by the time they reached Draco's room they parted on amicable terms.

He entered their little common room (which Draco had quickly changed the previously horrendous painting and decorating scheme into some calming earth tones) and found the object of his irritation already there.

Potter was rocking on his back on the carpeted floor, a leather bound book clutched between his hands and feet as he gnawed on the corner of it with his teeth.

Draco wanted to scowl at him disdainfully, but just couldn't bring the expression to his face when he found the scene so adorable.

Draco cleared his throat, which caused a fluffy kitty ear to twitch in his direction but otherwise it seemed he hadn't gotten the katashean's attention. "Are you quite done destroying precious literature Potter?"

**"Just – a – moment,"** he said distractedly in between bites. **"Mmm, so nummy, I lob leaber, mmm, mmm..."**

Draco did glower this time, not appreciating being ignored over a makeshift chew toy one bit. Before he could make any derisive comments though, Potter rolled onto his stomach and stared at him questioningly.

**'So, what's it you want then?'**

Draco was momentarily caught speechless by the sight Potter made just now. With the dim firelight casting shadows on his form, his tail slowly undulating above him, and those green orbs staring up at him with no hostility; Draco couldn't help by think the boy a positively beautiful specimen.

He started a little at the thought, but recovered hopefully before Potter noticed. _'Fine, so I think he's attractive.'_ Malfoy's were known to have a great appreciation for beautiful things, after all. _'It doesn't have to mean anything. Doesn't change the fact that I hate the pompous wanker.'_

**Draco?"**

He started, again, at the sound of his given name coming out of Potter's mouth. _'Since when does **he** call me that?'_

Since a couple of weeks ago, he suddenly remembered. He also recalled having a similar reaction. _'Wonderful, now I'm going mad.'_

"Why are you doing it?" was what came out instead of, "nothing, except I'd like it greatly if you'd go jump off a cliff."

**"Doing what?**

"You know what!" Draco exploded, his voice echoing off the walls. Potter cocked his head in understandable confusion, which made the small boy look even more appealing, which in turn pissed Draco off even more for thinking that. "Why do you keep helping us? Are you expecting me to drop down on my knees in gratitude and join your fan club?"

Potter blinked, not at all fazed by Draco's sudden anger. **"No."**

"You want my friends to be nice to you then?"

**"Nuh uh."**

"You want _me_ to be nice to you?"

Potter looked to the ceiling as if searching for an answer there, then shook his head. **"Nope."**

"Then what do you want?" he yelled again. He felt a bit of regret when Potter winced in pain. Draco often forgot how sensitive the small boy's ears were.

**"I waaaaaant...world peace,"** he then added after a pause, **"and cat nip."**

Draco deflated. "Cat nip?"

Potter nodded. **"And world peace. But I'm sure you can provide neither, so that's not the reason I'm helping you lot out."**

"Why then?"

Once again, Potter paused. **"I know how it feels to be picked on."** He gave Draco a weak glare suddenly, **"Actually, you guys were the ones to teach me all about that."**

"Haven't you ever heard of Karma?"

Potter waggled his finger back and forth at him, smiling. **"Ah, ah, I know for certain that you don't care that you may have done things in the past that would warrant this treatment, so don't start trying to play the repentant card."**

Draco couldn't disagree, and was furthermore surprised that Potter knew that about him and wasn't resentful.

"You realize that if you keep foiling their plans Nott and his friends are going to turn their attention on you, right?" Draco said in a last ditch effort to convince him to...what? Stop helping them? Since when did he want to protect anyone, especially Potter, from negative treatment when he could siphon it on someone else without a price?

**"That's likely to happen, yes."**

"Then _why_ are you doing it?"

Potter gave him a patient smile, the one that a teacher used for a particularly slow student. **"I thought we went through this already."** Potter got up on all fours and arched his back up, emitting several cracks that had Draco wincing. He climbed to his feet. **"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a date with some cream and a chess match with my big brother and sister."**

Potter walked past him, smiled at him almost...lovingly? Then left the room.

Draco stood rooted to his spot for a few moments, wondering why he had lost control so easily and why his heart was pounding so hard after Potter had come near him. Neither of these questions would get his Transfiguration or Astronomy homework done anytime soon, so he pushed any thoughts of Potter beauty and how that affected him aside for later analysis, and settled himself in front of the fire for a long night of studying.

------------------------------------------------------

"Harry, are you in this game or not?" Ron said exasperatedly after proclaiming "check mate" for the sixth time in under twenty minutes.

Harry came out the daze he was in with a shake of his head. "Meow?"

Ron sighed. "You've been in la, la land since you got up here. Is there something wrong?"

Harry looked around for something to write on. Hermione tapped him on the shoulder and handed him a quill and parchment. _"There's nothing the matter. I'm just a little out of it, that's all."_

"You're sure about that?" Hermione said, giving him the critical eye.

Harry nodded his had fervently.

"Malfoy hasn't been giving you any trouble has he?" said Ron.

Harry winced a little, as Ron hadn't a clue of how close he was to what was on Harry's mind at the moment. Luckily Hermione was too busy chastising Ron for being so "paranoid" about Slytherins in general, otherwise she would have caught Harry's reaction immediately.

He was finding that his feelings for Malfoy were fluctuating in very strange directions as of late. At first it was indifference, then curiosity after that little incident in Potions on the first day of school, for a while afterward irritation because of the need for a translator, and now...he didn't know so much.

_'Or, I do know, and I just don't want to admit it to myself,'_ he thought. _'Malfoy's an arrogant asshole who doesn't give a damn about anyone else but himself.'_ Okay so there were quite a few negatives, buuuuuuuuuut... _'He is pretty funny when he's being arrogant, and he's very loyal to his friends and family, and he can be could be very gentlemanly when he wants to, and he has the greatest smile –'_ he cut himself off, too frightened to go any further on that point. **"No way, I can't be falling for –"**

"What's all that Harry?" Ron asked. He'd given up on determining what Harry was saying on his own.

Harry shook his head and set up the chess pieces.

Ron furrowed his eyebrows, then said tentatively: "Another match then?" At Harry's nod he said; "Awesome. But this time pay attention, I want to beat you fair and square, so get your head out of the clouds."

Harry chuckled, and decided to focus his attention on the game this time.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, Malfoy's premonition of Nott and his crew picking on him instead of their previous targets spelled true. He found this out the hard way during History of Magic class.

Harry had taken a seat next to Malfoy like usual, preparing for a nice hour long cat nap.

BAM!

"MEOW!"

Harry shot straight up out of his chair like a rocket and hit the ceiling, his claws getting stuck in the wood so he wouldn't fall back down. For a few moments he stayed in his upside down position, shaking in fear and confusion and his ears ringing painfully like no tomorrow.

Finally, he managed to pry his eyes open and look down at the madness he had caused below. Nott and his gang were laughing their asses off, Vaisey holding a torn paper bag that was likely the object that had caused the exploding sound. Blaise, and Pansy however, were glaring daggers at the guffawing Slytherins while Malfoy called for him to "get down before you crack your head open Potter!"

Harry swung his legs down until he was only hanging by his claws, then retracted them. He then free fell back to the ground, but once he landed on his feet a wave of dizziness struck him and he almost toppled over.

Malfoy grabbed him before that could happen. "You alright Potter?" the blond asked him softly.

Harry moaned in response, still shaking. **"H - head hurts."**

"Maybe we should take him to the Infirmary?" Pansy suggested.

"Aww, did we scare the wittle kitty cat?" Nott cooed in mock concern. "Go on to the Infirmary Potter, we can't have the Golden Boy walking around with a life threatening boo – boo now can we?"

That comment only strengthened Harry's resolve. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his chin in the air and delicately sat himself back down in his chair.

"You sure your okay Potter?" Blaise asked.

**"Perfectly fine, thank you Mr. Zabini,"** he said in as even as tone as he could muster, for Malfoy's sake mostly.

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Leave it guys, Potter's decided to be a stubborn prat so there'll be no convincing him," he said a bit derisively, though he did sneak a couple of worried glances at him that he thought Harry didn't see when the lesson finally progressed.

Somewhere in between the retelling of the Goblin-Leprechaun alliance and the Cornish Pixie treaties, Harry's headache began to wane and boredom increase. He played with his tail for a few moments but that form of amusement got old quickly. He then started to twiddle his thumbs, so desperately bored was he, when the motion caused something amazing to happen.

As his thumbs brushed roughly together a spark suddenly appeared between them.

Harry started, a surprised "Mew!" escaping his lips. Binns' paused in his lecture and glared in his direction, seeing as he was the only one meowed on a regular basis.

When the old ghost of a Professor went back to his teachings, Harry studied his hand, back and front. He snapped his fingers, and jumped when a lick of flame appeared above his fist, like one would if a lighter had been flicked. He slowly opened his hand, the flame gliding into his palm and shifting into a ball. Entranced, Harry tossed the ball from hand to hand. It didn't burn, but there was a nice and warm tingly feeling that filled him and had him purring softly.

He played with the fire for awhile, quickly getting used to how to make it appear (with a snap of his fingers) disappear (by drawing it into one of his open hands like a vacuum would to dust bunnies) and a whole bunch of other things that had him stifling his happy giggles and purring.

A mischievous smile curled on his lips as an equally mischievous thought struck him. Harry tucked his hands under his desk and snapped as quietly as he could. He directed a long stream of flame towards a drowsy Nott, where it wrapped around the unsuspecting Slytherin's ankle.

Three...two...one...

"YOW!"

Nott jumped a foot in his seat, about to pat down his previously burning ankle only to find it free of fire or any sign of which.

"Mr. Nott, do you have something to share for the class," Professor Binns droned in his monotone.

Nott shifted his eyes nervously. He had the attention of everyone in class. "N-n-no sir."

Binns nodded and continued.

Harry snickered to himself, then sent another stream of flames at Nott, this time wrapping them around his wrist like a bracelet. He waited for Nott to notice the wring of fire before raising its temperature and...

"Ow, ow, OW!"

"Mr. Nott!"

"B-b-but fire! On my wrist!" Nott stuttered unintelligibly. This caused the class to laugh and the Professor to glare in irritation.

"One more outburst like that Mr. Nott and you'll be serving detention for a week."

"But Professor –"

"That's final, Mr. Nott."

Nott glowered at the ghost, but kept his mouth shut.

Harry couldn't hold back the snort this time, and nearly broke down into insane cackles when he saw Nott look around the class room suspiciously.

Malfoy and Blaise noticed Harry giggling uncontrollably. They gave him a questioning look, so he waggled his eyebrows and mouthed "Watch this". Intrigued, Blaise elbowed Pansy in the side and passed on Harry's little message.

Now with the three Slytherin's attention focused on him, he let them see the dancing flames in his palm for a quick second, then hid his hands under the desk again. He sent the red and orange ribbon at Nott for a third time, and let the flames spread under the boy's chair.

It only took a few seconds for him to react.

"GAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Nott hopped out of his seat and ran around the room screaming, both hands clasped firmly on his bum.

"That's it Mr. Nott, you'll be serving detention with Mr. Filch at nine o' clock for the rest of this week! Now get out of my classroom and go to the Headmaster's office."

"But – but...my BUTT!" Nott cried pathetically.

"Now Mr. Nott!" Binns exploded.

Nott went back to his desk and got his backpack, rubbing his unmarked but clearly smarting booty. He caught Harry, Malfoy, Blaise and Pansy laughing madly and glowered furiously.

He pointed at them all accusingly. "They're the ones that did this Professor, and I bet Potter was leading them!"

"I won't ask you to leave again Nott!"

Nott growled loudly, angry gaze set on Harry, "I'll get you for this," he hissed, and then stalked off, slamming the door behind them.

"Now where was I?" Binns said, returning to his normal monotonous tones.

Class ended, but it wasn't until after lunch that Harry met up with Nott again.

Unfortunately, though not unexpectedly, he wasn't alone.

But Harry was.

"Where do you think your going Potter?" Nott asked, leaning against the wall with two other Slytherin's flanking his sides, de ja vu during his days while fighting with Malfoy.

Harry's ears twitched as he heard footsteps creeping up from behind. Obviously Nott was trying to distract him. Harry smirked. _'Clearly he underestimates my hearing.'_

He sidestepped the curse the sneak attack Slytherin threw at him, and even managed to duck the one Nott sent him quickly after. However, he didn't count on Nott sending another spell directly after, and so was hit with a Jelly Legs jinx.

The Slytherin's wasted not time in surrounding his collapsed form, tying his hands behind his back with invisible restraints (if only it had been rope, he could've burned through them easily)!

Nott traced his wand tip down Harry's cheek in a mockery of a lover's caress, to which Harry jerked away from as if it were acid. "Now, what to do with our pretty little kitty?"

_"Expelliarmus, expelliarmus, expelliarmus!"_ was shouted in rapid succession before the Slytherin's could make any moves. A few more curses were shouted, and then all of the bullies found themselves disarmed and heavily bruised, (and in Bletchley's case sprouting tentacles on his face).

"I'm sorry, was I interrupting something?" Came Malfoy's cool voice, eyes like ice as he scanned the cowering fools.

Instead of challenging Malfoy head on, Nott turned his attention to Harry. "You won't have Malfoy to save your sorry arse all time Potter."

"I dunno, it seems to me that you lot are the sorry ones, if it takes five of you just to take Potter down, wouldn't you agree?"

Nott merely glared, then gestured for his buddies to follow him.

Only when they had all turned the corner did Malfoy lower his wand and check on Harry, his mercury eyes softening. He undid the bindings then took his small hand in his and helped him to his feet.

**"You saved me,"** Harry murmured dazedly.

"Yeah, well, we'll just call it even for one of the many times you've helped me out, okay?"

Harry nodded slowly. The two stared at each other for a heart beat, then Harry's eyes slid down to Malfoy's hand, which was clutching his arm gently. Malfoy followed Harry's gaze and quickly withdrew his hand, flushing slightly.

"So, you're all right then. You don't need to go to the hospital wing or anything?"

Harry shook his head. **"No, I'm fine."**

Draco nodded, more to himself then anything, and cleared his throat. "Right erm...right. I'll see you later then."

**"Yeah, later."**

Neither of them moved, which caused both of them to chuckle nervously.

"Okay, bye then." Malfoy, as if he had to force himself, turned on his heels and walked the way he came. Then realized that was the wrong way, and headed past Harry again, shooting him a nervous smile.

**"Bye."** Harry said softly. He sighed wistfully, and didn't even bother trying to stifle the sound. This was just the last straw that broke the camels back. There's was no doubting it now, and frankly he didn't feel very inclined to dive into the river of denial any longer.

**"I've got a crush on Draco Malfoy,"** he murmured to himself, a goofy smile lighting his face.

Now, all he had to do was get Draco Malfoy to have a crush on him back.

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And thus ends Chapter four. Next one should be up soon. Hope ya'll liked it.

The Magicians Wish


	5. Chapter: FIVE

Kitty, Kitty...Meow!

By: The Magicians Wish

Disclaimer: Don't own anything that's got to do with Harry Potter.

Summary: On his sixteenth birthday, Harry (surprise, surprise) comes into his inheritance and has turned into some type of human/cat creature. How will he get through his sixth year with all of these ridiculous new instincts warring with his human ones? And what's this bullcrap about him wanting to have a mate? Will his friends ever except them, or will Harry lose everyone on both sides?

Rated: R (for child abuse, rape, and other nasty things likely to come about.

A/N: Sorry, sorry, SORRY! Didn't mean to take so long but writers block just wouldn't allow me to do anything but stare at the computer. Thanks for all those who read and waited ever so patiently for the next chapter.

HPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDM

**Chapter:** FIVE

Harry was walking down a dirt path in a forest, swinging a basket of goodies in his left hand and just enjoying the natural beauty around him when…

The ninjas attacked!

Well, they didn't attack off the bat, exactly. They did, however, do complicated acrobats, dramatic ninja style poses, and interpretive dances, before circling around a now very confused and disturbed Harry and surrounding him.

"Who – who are you?" Harry stammered, eyes shifting from one posing ninja to another.

"We," said one of the taller ninja, who sounded suspiciously like Theodore Nott, "are the infamous shinobi of the Nasty Slytherin clan, and we have come, Kitty Harry, to steal your…GOODIES!"

Harry gasped in horror and clutched his basket protectively to his chest.

The Nott ninja cackled evilly. "We don't mean _those_ goodies."

Harry gasped even louder! Then, upon realizing he didn't understand the innuendo, cocked his head in confusion and said: "Huh?"

Nott rolled his eyes. "You know…" he trailed off, as if expecting Harry to get it with those words alone.

Harry shook his head slowly. "I'm still not following."

"You know," Nott said again, this time with a bit of impatience inflicted in his tone, "some of this…" He showed an example of what _this_ was exactly by wrapping his arms around an invisible person and making smooching noises.

"Or this," another ninja piped, doing the same thing as Nott, except he put a lot more tongue and slobber in to his pretend kissing.

"Or, _this_!" yet another ninja said. This one was a bit more lewd, as he grabbed his invisible person's hips and began to thrust his own back and forth like a dog in heat.

Harry's eyes widened in comprehension. "Oh!" he said slowly, then gasped again soon after. "Oh no!"

"Oh yes!" all the ninjas said in unison.

"Now," said Nasty Ninja Nott, "prepare to be thoroughly ravished! Ha, ha, ha, HA!"

"Ha, ha, ha, HA!" The other ninjas cackled together.

As the shinobi of the Nasty Slytherin clan started to close in on him, Harry put a hand to his forehead and said woefully: "Oh! Who will save my virginity from these dastardly fiends?"

Nott grabbed Harry's forearm roughly and pulled him flush against his chest. "There is no use crying out in a woeful manner, you are all mine now. Ha, ha, ha!"

"Ha, ha, ha!"

Nott turned to his ninja brethren, irritated. "Come on guys, really, give it a rest."

"Sorry," the other ninjas chorused.

Nott turned his attention back to Harry and gave him a feral grin. "Now, where were we?" He leaned in closer and made to smooch the poor katashean with his grotesque lips…

"Unhand the kitty Harry this instance!" a powerful voice boomed all around them, followed by the sound of hooves galloping.

Nott tossed Harry to the ground once the owner of the voice came into view. Sitting atop a pure white stallion was a man with white blond hair and mercury eyes. He was decked out in a white suite of armor, complete with a lance and a sheathed claymore strapped to his hip.

"And just who are you to demand such things, hmm?" Nott purred arrogantly, crossing his arms across his chest.

The mystery white knight hopped off his horse and struck a rather heroic pose. "I am Prince Draco, destroyer of evil, and rescuer of sexy Hell Cat's in need." He unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Nasty Ninja Nott's neck. "Now release that sumptuous looking katashean or suffer the consequences."

Nott blanched at the sword and took a step back, but quickly regained his composure. "Never!" he proclaimed. Then pointed a finger at Prince Draco as if it were a sword of his own and hollered at the top of his lungs: "Ninjas…ATTACK!"

"KeeeeeeeeeeeYA!" The Ninjas shouted simultaneously, and flew (literally) at the White Knight.

Prince Draco didn't even bat an eye lash as ninjas floated towards him in slow motion. He, surprisingly enough, dropped his sword and lance to the ground, and cracked his knuckles in a threatening manner. When the flock of ninjas and Draco collided a cloud of dust flared up and effectively blocked the scene.

However, from the sounds of fists and steel toed boots connecting with flesh and bone, any one with ears could tell they certainly weren't having tea and crumpets in there.

Both Harry and Nott winced every time a hapless ninja was thrown several feet in the air until they landed with a sickening THUMP on the ground. One poor sap was tossed so high that he landed into a tree, then crashed down various branches because they were too thin to support his weight but apparently thick enough to cause him severe pain. He squealed a billion octaves higher then any man should ever be able to squeal as he landed with his legs parted on a particularly thick branch. Slowly he toppled over, and finally collapsed on to the dirt path. As he climbed to his feet, he practically sobbed: "I don't get paid enough for this shit! You'll be hearing from my father, Theo!" Then he limped off, bow legged and likely missing a few important bits.

After a couple of more ninja were hurled into the atmosphere, the cloud of dust finally cleared. There, standing tall in the center of unconscious ninja forms, his long golden locks blowing in a nonexistence breeze, clothes torn to reveal God like muscles, and emitting a glow that could rival that of the sun, was Prince Draco; defeater of EVIL and defender of JUSTICE!

Harry cleared his throat and fanned himself with his hand. Was it just him, or did the temperature just go up a few hundred degrees?

"Now," Prince Draco said, glaring at Nott menacingly, "it's your turn. Prepare to die!"

Nott, who had been gaping in awe at the gorgeous figure in front of him, straightened and threw a glare as equally menacing as Draco's. "Ha! It is you that will die Prince _Dracula,_ for your maximum strength of a thousand steroid induced gorillas nor your sexiness that could rival that of Brad Pitt AND George Clooney –

"George Clooney?" Harry interrupted, a little disturbed at the image.

"Er, I meant 1980's George Clooney."

"Ah, okay then."

"Anyway…your sexiness that could rival that of Brad Pitt AND George Clooney – 1980's version," he muttered hurriedly, "combined has absolutely no affect on me. Ha, ha, ha, HA!"

"Yes, I was completely aware of that," Draco replied calmly, despite the odds being seemingly against him. "That's why I came prepared with…THIS!" He reached into his trouser pocket and brandished a…sheaf of slightly crinkled parchment.

Nott laughed his evil laugh. With the outing of the Prince's secret weapon, he clearly figured this battle won. Harry's ears drooped in defeat, feeling inclined to agree with the nasty ninja.

"A raggedy piece of parchment," Nott said between evil chortles. "Is that the best you can do?"

But Draco's triumphant smirk never faltered. Harry felt his ears perk up at the sight…as well as another part of his anatomy. What could he say, that smile could melt a glacier!

"You celebrate too soon, Mr. Nott," Draco said, his smirk turning positively predatory. "You see this is no ordinary piece of parchment. This is a…detention slip!"

Nott's eyes bugged out in horror, Harry gasped, and Draco continued to smirk, and thus continued being extremely sexy.

"Im – impossible!" Nott shouted. "You're not a teacher, so you can't give out detention."

"Ah, but you forget, dear Nott, that I am a prefect, and can therefore distribute detentions to my hearts content. Now, feel the wrath of cleaning the bedpans in the Infirmary for all eternity!" With that exclamation, Draco threw the detention slip as if it were a ninja star, where a corner of the damning parchment struck Nott right in the eye.

Nott screamed in agony, not only because he had to clean bedpans for the rest of his life, but also because having a sharp corner of paper stuck in your eye was hardly comfortable. "Curse you Prince Draco!" Nott managed to yell, before being blown to pieces in a blaze of fiery death.

When the smoke cleared and all that was left of Nasty Ninja Nott was a pile of ash, Draco blinked in confusion. "Hmm, didn't expect the bloke to explode."

Harry turned up his nose and harrumphed. "It's just as well that he did, the bastard." He then smiled brightly at the prince. "Thank you so much for saving me Prince Draco, how can I ever repay?"

Draco gave a smile of his own, then strode confidently up to Harry and swept him off of his feet. "Your sheer beauty is payment enough for me. Now let us ride off into the sun set!"

With Harry still cradled in his arms, Draco climbed onto his white stallion and nudged it with his heels into a gallop. "Harry, there's something I need to tell you, it's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time now."

Harry's eyes brightened, heart thumping a million miles per hour. If Harry's vast knowledge of romance novels were anything to go by, then Draco could be about to say any number of things. A proclamation of his undying love perhaps? A marriage proposal even? Harry had to physically restrain himself from bouncing in the prince's lap. "What is it?"

"Well, I just wanted to say…Harry! Are you even attempting to pay attention to me?"

Harry blinked in shock. "Wha – what?" he sputtered.

"Are you listening yet?" Draco said, but this time the words came out in a different voice…a decidedly girly and unfortunately familiar voice. "It could come in real handy to know some of this stuff Harry, and you won't know any of this unless you LISTEN!"

Harry blinked again, though when he opened his eyes this time the scenery transformed from a forest to Hogwarts' Great Hall, and his gorgeous Prince Draco changed into his best, if not slightly miffed, friend Hermione Granger.

Harry shook his head, the transition from fantasy to reality throwing him for a loop. "Meow?"

"Don't you "Meow" me, Harry Potter." Hermione had _The Everything Cat Book_ handy, along with several other tomes on magical cat creatures and beings spread out before her in the place of her breakfast. "You were day dreaming again, weren't you? You've been doing it all week so don't try and deny it! Really Harry, what could possibly preoccupy you so when you have all this fascinating information about your fire powers…"

What ever else Hermione had to say went right over his head as he found himself descending into _la, la land_ once again. Ever since that day Draco had so valiantly rescued him, Harry had been reliving the events until the details started to become more and more extravagant, as was shown in the little "knight in shining armor" fantasy he'd been having not a few moments ago. He knew that he was falling hard for someone that didn't even like him, if not still despised him, and that he was acting like a bloody girl with all of his swooning. But, try as he might – and believe it, he wasn't trying very hard – there was little he could do to dispel these feelings.

He rested his cheek on his fist and stared at the handsome blonde that only sat a few tables across from him. Oh how he longed to run his fingers through that long silky hair, nuzzle against his creamy skin, kiss those rosy lips…

"Harry! Did – did you just sigh wistfully?"

Harry jumped at Hermione's accusing tone. She was giving him a confused and somewhat disturbed look, and had that infamous calculating gleam in her eyes. Harry tried to shift his gaze elsewhere, but he was already caught. It only took a few seconds for her to figure out where the path of his line of sight had lead, and once it hit its mark, she slowly turned towards Harry, then back at Draco, then at Harry again, all the while her mouth flapped open and closed wordlessly and her expression shifted from shock to bewilderment to something that was a combination of the two.

'_Well, at least she doesn't seem disgusted,'_ he thought hopefully, though the word '_yet'_ that quickly followed after really put a damper on his optimism.

"Harry, could I have a word with you for a moment…alone?" Hermione asked in a deceptively calm voice. Harry knew that wasn't a question, regardless the phrasing of which, so it was with his ears drooping in apprehension and his head hung slightly that he followed Hermione out of the Great Hall.

"Hey!" Ron called after them, bacon and eggs stuffed in his mouth as per usual. "Where're you two going?"

"We'll only be a moment Ron, not to worry," Hermione replied without even turning around. She led Harry into an alcove once they were out of the Hall and away from prying ears.

"So, is there anything you want to tell me?"

Harry shuffled his feet and fiddled with the hem of his shirt nervously. He was no master liar, and it was worse even when his friends already knew the truth. '_What had the Hat been thinking, trying to sort me into Slytherin?'_ He would've been torn apart in the snake pit if only because of the blatant _guilt_ he always seemed to exude.

He made to write down his confession, but had to keep crossing words out as he couldn't seem to piece his thoughts together satisfactorily.

"You have a slight infatuation with Malfoy, don't you?" she said when it seemed Harry wasn't going to be dishing answers sometime before Christmas.

"_It's more then a slight infactuation,"_ he managed to write. "_I mean, I really, really like him 'Mione!"_

Hermione looked at a loss for words after reading the script. Finally she settled on asking, "Why?"

She took the slip of paper Harry scribbled on and read aloud: "_Good Question._ Harry! Be serious!"

"_Sorry,"_ he wrote this time, smiling sheepishly. "_He's really not all that bad. I mean, I know he can be a bit cruel and sadistic,"_ Hermione glanced up at him and drawled: "Yes, calling me mudblood for three years can be considered cruel." Harry winced, then waved for her to continue reading. "_But you haven't been around him as much as I have, and he can be really caring, and he's pretty funny once you get used to his sarcasm. Plus, he saved my life last week, doesn't that count for something?"_

Hermione sighed when she finished. "Oh Harry, did it have to be him though?"

Harry bit his lip as he wrote down his query. "_Are you mad at me?"_

"He's such a nasty little thing too!" Hermione continued to rant. "And arrogant, and his hair is practically glued to his head with all that gel he uses! What on earth do you see in him?"

"_But are you mad, though?"_ He wrote again, his handwriting shaky as his hand trembled in fear and nervousness.

"No, I'm not mad at you. It's none of my business of who you like, and it's not as if I can control your heart…or hormones rather."

Harry smiled brightly. "Meow! Miaw meow mrrow meow!" he exclaimed as he pulled Hermione into a hug. "**I'm so glad to hear that! Thank you, I love you!"**

Hermione chuckled and held her little katashean brother tightly. She couldn't understand the first bit of what he said, but the last part he used often enough, so she responded to which with a fond: "Love you too, Harry.

"So, what are you going to do now?" she asked after they parted.

Harry cocked his head, confusion shining in his emerald eyes. "Meow?"

"Oh, don't tell me you weren't planning on approaching him about this?"

Harry blanched, taking a step back. "Meow meow?"

"Yes, approach him!" Hermione shook her head. "Honestly, you can't just make goo goo eyes at him from afar for the rest of the school year, nothing will ever get done then."

"_What should I do then?"_ he scribbled on his handy dandy note book.

"Well, you could – wait! No! no, no, no, no!" Hermione put her hands up as if she could distance herself from the problem physically. "There's _no_ way I'm going to help you court Malfoy. I don't even know much about how that works myself!"

"_Please 'Mione. You and Ron are the only couple I know to have lasted so long. You must know something about romance!"_ By the time Hermione had lowered the paper she was faced with Harry's wide and pleading eyes and a trembling bottom lip.

"Well," she started slowly, "once he gets his head out of his arse Ronald can be quite romantic. Why I remember when he first asked me out, he'd left these little clues all over Hogwarts, mind you they weren't very challenging but it's the thought that counts, that eventually led me to this lovely meadow behind green house 4. It was so beautiful, he even had a candle light dinner ready and a violin hovered above us while it played my favorite songs." Hermione gave a wistful sigh of her own, staring off at a point beyond Harry and clearly reliving the night she was describing. "All right, Harry, I'll help you. I have to take care of some of my Prefect duties and a study session that I simply must get done with before midnight, but I'll see what I can come up with tomorrow."

"_That's great! Thank you so much Hermione!"_ Harry wrote, before pulling her into another hug.

"It's no trouble. I'd best get going, that potions essay isn't going to write itself, unless I can find my blasted _self writing quill_ again." She started to leave but then turned back to Harry after walking a few paces. "Oh, and did you have anything to eat for breakfast Harry?"

Harry looked down to avoid her knowing gaze, but even without having to see her accusing stare he still shook his head in the negative.

"Harry," Hermione sighed, "this is starting to get serious. I think we should maybe see Madam Pomfrey about you having an eating disorder of some sort."

At the mention of something Hospital Wing related, Harry started to back away from his bushy haired friend, lest she feel inclined to drag him to the Infirmary kicking and screaming. "**No, there's no need for that. I feel fine! Fit as a fiddle, in fact I think I'll go for a little jog,"** he said in a hurried string of mew's that he forgot Hermione would undoubtedly not understand. He dashed off before she could get another word in, and as he rounded a corner he could hear her stomp her foot and huff in frustration.

After sprinting down another corridor and feeling as if his lungs would burst if he ran another step, Harry finally slowed to a normal stride. "**Eating disorder? I don't have any eating disorder,"** he grumbled to himself. "**I'm just still getting used to having more food then I usually get. It happens after every summer I go to the Dursley's, nothings changed."** Though, he had to admit, that by this time into the school year he would usually be eating at least a normal three courses, as opposed to now where it was a struggle to eat a whole peach and some fish once a day.

It would also explain why he was tired and achy all of the time, and his pathetic escape from Hermione just a moment before. After that little dash he was ready to hit the hay then and there!

'_Maybe I'm just out of shape?'_ But he knew that wasn't true. Being out of shape didn't mean he would pass out after a bit of a run. '_Well fine! So what if I have a stupid disorder, it's not that bad. And it's not like I can go to Pomfrey anyway, else she'll find out about the Dursley's.'_ And that was the last thing Harry wanted to be unearthed. He could just imagine how his friends and family, his pack, would feel if they found out how pathetic Harry was.

So, like the rest of the Dursley's abuse, Harry decided that he would have to keep this ailment better hidden.

He started to formulate ways to make it seem like he was eating normally, some kind of crafty spell that would keep Hermione's suspicions at bay, as he strolled aimlessly down the corridors of the castle. The familiar scent of lemon and chamomile tea had him stop in his tracks. His ears twitched and turned left and right as far as they would go, searching for the owner of the aroma. Sure enough, the sound of footsteps could be heard just around the corner in front of him, along with the soft murmuring of a conversation that he couldn't make out.

A positively mischievous grin split across Harry's otherwise innocent looking face. He soundlessly climbed up one of the tall suits of armor, who began to squeak and clatter in protest at the rude '_kitty-handling'_ it was receiving until Harry shushed it, and perched atop its helmet on all fours. There he waited, tail curled around him and eyes fixated on the spot that would soon harbor his prey.

"…and so the Hag say's: 'That's not my toothbrush, that's my sock!' and then the centaur say's –"

"Rrow!" Harry exclaimed before the Headmaster could finish, as he dived at said man's head.

Dumbledore, who was starting to get used to this game of 'jump the Hogwarts Headmaster at any given time' caught Harry in midair and held the sheepish Katashean by the underarms in front of him. Mind, it took many a trial and error before he got to this point, as in the beginning Dumbledore would swear up and down that the boy had practically materialized out of thin air before pinning him to the ground. Now there was at least a 15 chance of him catching Harry before being knocked into next week.

"Harry!" Hagrid gasped, beetle black eyes wide at the procession before him. "Wha' on earth do yeh think yer doin' pouncin' on the Headmaster like that? Are yeh mad!"

Dumbledore chuckled good-naturedly at his friend and employee. "Now, now Hagrid Harry didn't mean any harm. He's actually provided quite a good work out for me these past few weeks, keeps me on my toes!" He let out another laugh that was borderline maniacal.

"Not so sure it's proper protocol Sir, bu' whatever yeh say."

Dumbledore muttered something that sounded like: "Protocol shmotocol" then turned his attention back to Harry, who had at some point snaked his arms around the Headmasters neck and was purring against his cheek.

"And how are you this fine Sunday afternoon, hmm?"

Harry pulled back a little and regarded his pseudo grandfather with a sweet smile. "Meow, miaw."

"Splendid!" Dumbledore proclaimed, having no clue what Harry said but assuming it was positive. "Professor Hagrid and I were just heading to his hut for some tea and rock cakes, would you care to join us?"

Harry considered it for a second. He didn't have anything else planned today, and his grandpapa was always good for some nice petting behind his ears. So he nodded and leapt out of the Headmaster's arms, following him and Hagrid out towards Hogwarts' grounds.

When they arrived Harry took it upon himself to make the tea and pastries.

"Aww, Harry, yeh don' have te do tha' now…" Hagrid started to protest.

Harry merely glared at the half giant and swatted at him till he returned meekly back to his seat. No pack of his would be serving anything while he was around!

A little over twenty minutes later Harry poured Dumbledore and Hagrid their tea out of the kettle that was bigger then Harry's head, and dished out the pastries that were far more _cake_ and less _rocky_, as Hagrid's usually weren't.

"Ah! Excellent Harry. This is simply the best tea I've had in years, thank you," Dumbeldore said after taking a few sips.

Hagrid went through three rock cakes before drinking his own tea with relish. "This is delicious! I wish me own cakes came ou' this fluffy," he said, annihilating another rock cake in one bite.

Harry beamed at the compliments. Cooking was a talent he could safely say was his own, unlike his spell casting which was usually luck or his Quidditch skills which he felt was just something else to compare him to his father.

After drinking the excess cream that neither professors wanted, Harry curled up in his usual spot on the Headmaster's lap and purred in contentment as said Headmaster ran his fingers through his hair and scratched behind his ears.

Hagrid and Dumbeldore filled up the rest of their visiting time with discussions on mainly light topics; how Hagrid's classes were doing, Professor Sprout's deranged gift of socks knitted with Devil's Snare instead yarn to the Headmaster last Christmas, Some school activities that would help cheer up the poor seventh years after the grueling NEWT exams…Harry pretty much tuned most of it out. The only thing they spoke of that was remotely Voldemort related was Hagrid's progress on coaxing the Giants to the Light Side. So far he'd only convinced them to stay neutral in the war, but Dumbledore seemed to feel that was better then nothing.

At first Harry thought that they were purposely avoiding the subject because he was there, but then he figured they wouldn't have bothered inviting him if Voldemort was the main point of their get-together.

The slight chill he carried on a day to day bases because of his perpetual anxiety and bouts of unhappiness that were becoming more frequent as more problems arose, started to melt away, being replaced by a cozy warmth. It always felt so nice to be in the arms of one of his pack, he didn't think he needed anything else then a bit of cuddling from them. It let him know that despite how useless he saw himself as, and all of the baggage he seemed to carry, they still loved him and hopefully wouldn't leave him alone for at least a little while.

"Oh Harry, I forgot to tell you something, I probably should have mentioned this to you earlier," Dumbledore said, snapping Harry out of his light doze.

Harry coked his head to the side, staring up at Dumbledore attentively.

"Your life ban on Quidditch has been lifted…" Harry's ears perked up and a bright smile lighted his face, "…but I'm afraid you still can't play."

Harry's ears drooped back down the second the words escaped the Headmaster. He wasn't 'I think I'll go jump off the Astronomy Tower there is no God!' sad about it, as he'd pretty much resigned himself to never playing Quidditch for the team in Hogwarts again after last year, but the false hope Dumbledore had unintentionally ignited in him left him a little depressed now.

"Mew?" he sighed.

"Well, mostly because the school rules state that certain magical creatures aren't allowed to play, Katashean being one of them. You're already the best Seeker Hogwarts has seen in years Harry, and now with your advanced hearing and sight the other teams won't even have a fighting chance!

"But there's also the fact that we can't keep replacing the Snitch if you _accidentally_ eat or demolish it, they are quite expensive you know."

"Meow!"

"Don't look so affronted!" Dumbledore chuckled, eyes twinkling. "Professor Trelawney has already complained about you tearing some of the jewels off of her shawl and earrings, which just so happen to be quite shiny in the right light. I dare say I hate to see what would happen to the pour Snitch if we ever let it loose in your vicinity."

Harry glared half heatedly at the Headmaster's jibes, but soon descended into a state of unhappiness again. The chill was starting to follow, so he cuddled up closer to his grandpapa before he did something embarrassing like shiver, or chatter his teeth together.

"It'll be all righ' Harry. Jus' cause you can'nt play don' mean yeh can' fly 'round the pitch."

Harry smiled a little. He could see Hagrid was trying to think of something else to say to console him, and Harry appreciated it.

"Oooh, I got jus' the thing to cheer yeh up!"

Harry gave his friend a wary look. He hoped whatever Hagrid had thought of didn't involve something taller then a two story house or had sharp teeth and talons that could rip through steal. "M-Meow meow?" he asked. **What is it then?**

"There's a pack o' Katashean that just migrated to the Forbidden Forest three day's ago. They're jus' restin' there for a little while, then they're headin' to someplace with warmer climates, bu' they should still be there. Would yeh like to meet 'em? If it's all righ' with yeh Headmaster, o' course."

Harry looked to Dumbledore with pleading eyes. Meeting his people sounded like a great idea! Hermione's books and research were helpful with some hard facts sure, but none of them gave any elaborate detail of the Katasheans history, and plus there were so many other questions that books alone simply could not answer.

"I don't see why not. It should definitely prove to be a good learning experience. I trust you'll keep our young Harry safe, Hagrid?"

"O' course, o' course! They're a nice lot, these Katashean. Meet me at me hut at 'round seven tonight, alrigh' Harry? And don' worry Headmaster, I'll have 'em back before curfew."

HPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDM

There was little any one could do to make Harry sit still for the rest of the day, even a well meaning Body-Bind Curse from Ron could keep him from bouncing around. His Katashean side was bursting with joy and excitement at the prospect of meeting his people, and couldn't wait till it was time to go. While his human side, the part that usually thought rationally, was a nervous wreck and dreaded the moment when the clock would strike seven.

Draco, after the Slytherin had demanded to know why Harry was moving about like some Hufflepuff on a sugar high, didn't seem too pleased with the whole idea.

"So that oaf's just going to leave you in the Forbidden Forest with a bunch of creatures you've never met before?" Draco asked, voice rising in his incredulity.

Harry shrugged. "**He might. I don't know what we're going to do, really."**

Draco snorted derisively. "And being the moronic Gryffindor you are I suppose you're just going to follow him blindly. Forget the fact that maybe these creatures might be hostile towards you, or even the other dangerous monsters that skulk around that forest. Oh no, nothing can touch the great Golden Dork so long as he has his trusty half-giant and a brain the size of an ear mite on his side!"

Harry regarded the fuming blonde with a serene smile. "**Are you worried about me, Draco?"**

He chuckled inwardly as the unflappable Draco Malfoy sputtered for an answer, his cheeks flushing a very nice shade of pink. "N – n – no! Of course not. You can just go ahead and get eaten for all I care!" He then went back to reading the books on his desk, all the while grumbling about Harry's early demise via an army of angry Vampires.

Just an hour before he was to depart to Hagrid's, Harry met up with Ron and Hermione in the Gryffindor common room. Hermione was a bit worried about venturing into the Forest at night, but the idea of gaining more knowledge from such a reliable source quickly quashed any fears she may have had. Ron, on the other hand, was just as vehement about Harry's safety as Draco, and it took some convincing to keep him from becoming an unwanted escort.

"_This is something I have to do myself, Ron,"_ Harry wrote for them in his notepad.

Harry felt a sense of Déjà Vu when Ron started mumbling about how Harry was going to meet an early demise via those damn Acromantulas.

He met up with Hagrid right on time, a backpack, filled with his invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map, slung over one shoulder just in case he didn't make it before curfew. No need to give Snape any more incentive to give him detention, as he was likely prowling the corridors right at this moment, waiting for him to slip up.

Harry made sure to stick close to Hagrid as they tromped through the Forest. The place seemed even worse then the last time he entered now that he could hear almost every twig snap, every bushel rustle, and every kind of beastie yawn or growl within a five mile radius!

Hagrid stopped suddenly and raised his lamp high above his head, squinting his eyes at the darkness. "Vitani! Yeh here yet?"

Harry winced at his friend's loud voice. He hoped the half giant hadn't woken up and or annoyed any animal that was particularly fond of fresh katashean for dinner.

After a few more moments of waiting in silence, a figure finally emerged from the grove of trees in front of them.

Harry stared in awe at the currently black and white full-blooded katashean. She had the body and face of a young woman. Like Harry, she had fluffy pointed ears on the top of her head and a long tail. As she stepped into the ring of light her actual coloring washed over her and Harry could see that the only thing that covered her was a light sheen of tan fur from her collarbone down and nothing else. Her hair was a wild crimped mane of auburn that framed her head, almost obscuring her ears in its bushiness.

"Evenin' Vitani! How are yeh?"

Vitini sat crouched like a cat sitting up. Her tail undulated a bit before she brought it in front of her and traced her response with it in the dirt. "_I am well Hagrid, and you?"_

"Fine, fine. I brought yeh some eucalyptus leaves for yeh and yer kittens, compliments o' Professor Sprout."

Harry's eyes bugged out when Hagrid pulled out a bag of the delectable leaves from one of his many pockets. Probably the only reason he hadn't jumped the half giant by now was because of all the mixed scents his blasted jacket emanated. '_I can't believe that woman has been holding out on me all this time! The nerve of her,'_ Harry thought irately. Professor Sprout couldn't still be mad about him napping in her flowerbed and gnawing on most of the flowers within, could she? He'd already apologized about a million times, _and_ had taken it upon himself to replant each and every flower he had inadvertently eaten. What more did she want from him? '_Some people just can't let go of a grudge.'_

Vitani smiled at Hagrid, her golden eyes shining brightly as she nipped the bag out of the half giant's hands with her teeth. She brushed away her first message with her tail and then wrote another one. "_Thank you Hagrid! This will be a real treat for my little ones, they haven't had eucalyptus leaves in a long while."_

"S'no trouble a'tall. I also came ou' here to introduce yeh to someone." Hagrid placed one of his large hands gently on Harry's shoulder. "This here is me good friend an' student, Harry Potter. He's a half blooded katashean, jus' came into his inheritance a couple o' months ago."

Vitani's eyes scanned him up and down not unkindly, but most definitely in a way that made Harry feel unnerved. She stood up abruptly then. She had already been taller than Harry while sitting down, but now she reached up to just above Hagrid's nose! She bent over a little so that she was almost eye level with the small boy, and Harry noticed that she too had that heavenly glow that alighted his face when his collar was off.

She clasped both his hands together in her…paws? Her arm structure started out like of humans, but at the wrist they smoothly melded into large paws covered in soft tan fur, and her feet were pretty much the same way. Well, now Harry knew why she didn't just grab the bag of eucalyptus leaves; she didn't have opposable thumbs.

"**Pleased to meet you, Harry Potter,"** she said in the katashean tongue, words slurred slightly because of the bag.

Harry giggled a little. "**You as well, and it's just Harry."**

Hagrid looked at them both blankly, having only heard a string of meowing. "Err, righ'. Anyway, would yeh mind talking to Harry fer a little while, Vitani? No one at Hogwarts knows much about katashean, an' I'm sure it would really help him understand his other culture more."

"_I'd be glad to,"_ Vitani wrote.

"Tha's great! I'll meet yeh two back here, in say…two hours?"

Harry nodded hesitantly, biting back a sigh. Hagrid was going to leave him with a creature that he'd never met before, Draco had been right after all.

"Come along then kitten, we'll go to where the rest of the pack is and then I'll try and answer all the questions you likely have," Vitani said when Hagrid made his leave. She dropped back down to all fours and walked beside him, looking for all the world like a powerful lioness.

"Would you like me to carry the bag for you?" Harry asked, seeing the larger katashean struggle to keep the slippery material from falling out of her mouth. She let Harry take it from her and smiled.

"Why thank you! I wish my kittens were as polite as you are, even my oldest always seems to forget her manners. Honestly, these young ones have no respect for the elderly these days."

Harry flushed at the compliment, but had no idea how to respond to that, so he refrained from commenting.

After several minutes of walking deeper into the forest the two finally made it to a clearing. The quarter moon shone brightly in this area, so Harry could see all of the different katashean in color. There were at least several dozen of them, all in a similar state of dress as Vitani; that is to say only their fur. Some regarded the pair with curiosity but most were giving Harry cold and angry stares, even hissing and growling at him as they walked by.

A male, gray furred katashean with dark blue slashes under his eyes suddenly approached them, getting in Vitani's face. "What do you think your doing Vitani, bringing that abomination to our territory?" he growled, standing upright in what Harry supposed was an act of intimidation.

Vitani, however, seemed anything but intimidated. In fact, she didn't even stand up to meet him. She merely lifted her chin and stared at him with bored, hooded eyes. "You are not my mate, Kek, nor are you my leader, so I don't have to answer to you."

Kek growled, growing angrier at Vitani's lack of reaction. "His _kind_," at this he threw Harry a glare that would have Snape quaking in his socks, "aren't allowed here! It's the rules, you can't bring him here."

Vitani's fur bristled a little, but she otherwise didn't move. Harry thought that as the conversation went on Kek was sounding more and more like a petulant child. "There's no rule like that and you know it. And I can do whatever I want, so long as it's not hurting you. Unless you're afraid of a kitten?"

"I fear nothing! Especially the likes of this freak runt!"

"Then leave us be!"

"Fine!" Kek went back to all fours. He snarled at Vitani and Harry, showing off two thick, wicked looking fangs. Harry was proud to say that he only winced slightly. He had been far more shaken by the freak comment then this little show. "Be sure to keep him on your side."

Vitani's eyes followed Kek until he was at what she deemed a safe distance. When they moved again it was at a slower pace, with Vitani eyeing each of her pack members warningly and almost blocking Harry completely from their view.

They were near the edge of a running stream before the two stopped again, a good distance away from the rest of the pack.

"I'm back children," Vitani announced. After which, two squeals of "MAMA!" sounded and the next thing Harry knew an orange and golden brown ball of fur was attacking Vitani.

Vitani chuckled warmly, kissing the two enthusiastic kittens on top of their heads in greeting. Both were of waist height to Harry and had the same glow that surrounded their bodies. "Were you two good for your big sister?"

"Yes mama," the kittens chorused, sweetly. Although the orange one had a mischievous grin on his face.

Vitani narrowed her eyes suspiciously at them, but finding nothing at fault she moved on to greet another katashean close to them, who was undoubtedly the "big sister".

This other katashean was as big as and looked just like Vitani, except slimmer and perhaps a lighter tan. She was also noticeably not glowing like the rest of them, and had two red slashes under her blue eyes that cut off mid cheek.

They both stood up and clasped paws, much like how Vitani did to Harry earlier. After a few moments of low conversation that had the other katashean laughing a little, Vitani made the introductions.

"Harry, these are my kittens, Omari," she pointed to the orange one, "and Halima," the golden brown one.

Halima waved her paw at him shyly, but Omari had other plans. The orange furred katashean walked up to Harry and sniffed the air. Apparently finding Harry's scent to his satisfaction, he wrapped his arms around his waist and leaned his head back to stare up at him, grinning hugely. "HI, HI!"

Harry smiled down at him. "Ah, hello."

"And this is my eldest, Safiya," Vitani continued.

Safiya held out both her paws to him and Harry took them automatically, though it was a little hard to keep balance with the kitten still happily attached to his waist.

"It's a pleasure," she said shortly with a respectful nod.

"Likewise."

"Lovely. Now lets all have some of those eucalyptus leaves Hagrid was kind enough to get us, then we can tell Harry here a little bit about our people."

At the mention of eucalyptus leaves the two kittens squealed and hurried their way to get next to their mother. Harry set the bag of leaves down and they all dug in.

Since her brother didn't seem to have a problem with him, little Hamila approached Harry, albeit cautiously, and stared at his hands. "How come you don't have paws?"

Harry popped a leaf into his mouth, trying to chew over how he was going to explain his heritage. "Err, well you see…"

Not to be outdone, Omari gave a little leap until he was near him, and poked a paw at one of his trainers. "And what are these leathery things? Don't they squish your feet?"

"Ahh, not exactly…"

"Harry's a half blood, so he has more human parts then we do," Vitani answered for him. She squinted at his face, cocking her head and regarding him curiously. "Although your skin does look a little strange, are you ill little one?"

Harry blinked in confusion. He couldn't be paler than he normally was…and then it hit him. He unclasped his collar and his body glowed like the other katashean around him.

"Oh my that's much better!" she exclaimed, looking for a moment as ecstatic as her kittens could become. "You were pretty before, but now your breathtaking!" She smoothed her paws gently through his hair, purring in delight. "And such a silky mane too, your pack must groom you all the time."

Harry flushed at all of the attention. "Ah, no. I do my own, err, grooming." He felt even more heat rise to his face at the image of Hermione – or worse, Ron! – filing his claws and brushing his hair like some kind of pampered prince.

Vitani glared disapprovingly at Omari all of a sudden. "And just look at my scruffy kittens! Safiya, clean up your brother! He's a mess."

"Aww, mama!"

Halima giggled at her brother, while Safiya rolled her eyes and sighed. "Come on Omari, don't make this harder than it has to be."

Omari moaned again and stalked over to his big sister. He mumbled incoherent profanities as Safiya licked his back, arms crossed over his chest and pouting like the adorable kitten he was.

"You know Harry, my Safiya would make a wonderful mate for you…"

Safiya froze in the middle of licking Omari's mane clean, looking up at her mother incredulously. "Mama!"

"She's nearly twenty years, a good strong dominant, she'd be a great provider for your kittens," Vitani continued, ignoring her daughter's sputtered protests. Harry didn't think he could get any redder.

"Ah, a – actually I think I already found a potential um, mate," he said. The thought of Draco erased any feelings of embarrassment, and instead brought forth a happiness that was…not better than when in the presence of his pack members, but most assuredly different.

"Oh, I see," Vitani sighed. "Well, if it doesn't work out, my Safiya will be available for some time."

"Mama, stop trying to choose my mate for me! I said I would find one when I was ready."

"But you'll never have kittens at the rate you're going. Your mother is so old now, and you wont even give me grandbabies before it's too late."

Safiya rolled her eyes. "Your only forty-two years mama," she grumbled.

Vitani placed the back of her paw atop her forehead. "After all I've done for my beloved daughter, she can't even grant her old, old mama her last wish by settling down and continuing our line. Oh, what ever am I to do Harry?"

Vitani held her pose for maybe a millisecond longer before dissolving into laughter, Harry and the kittens joined her, and Safiya looked to the heavens in exasperation.

"Enough of my daughter's sorry love life. You came to learn of our people, so ask away."

And so Harry did. He first asked some of the questions Hermione had written down, most of them pertaining to their history. Their people originated in ancient Egypt within a city called Bubastis. A tribe of worishipers of the cat Goddess (1)Bast resided their, and they mostly lived in quiet peace with their domesticated wild cats. That is until one summer a heavy drought pervaded the lands and dried up all the crops. The people tried every thing to save their makeshift farms, but without water it was no use. There was nothing left to do but ask their Goddess for help. They prayed in their temple, in their homes, even in the streets, begging their goddess for salvation from this terrible heat. When they still yet received no answer, one of the villagers suggested they offer a sacrifice, as the Gods were more likely to respond if they sent them a gift to the heavens.

Now they had to decide who they would sacrifice. The villagers figured it wouldn't be right to sacrifice one of their own, as they were all scrawny and ugly from starvation and therefore not worthy of their Goddess. Their cats were just as skinny as they were, but their coats were still silky and beautiful. So the people of Bubastis set up a large fire within their temple and threw their pet cats in, once again praying for their Goddess to bring back the rain.

Three days later the rain did come, and the villagers rejoiced and thanked the Goddess for her gift. However, the villagers didn't realize that the raindrops that gave their crops life were Bast's tears for her most beloved creations deaths. The villagers ignorant of this, continued to sacrifice their cats every summer season when the draught hit, and Bast continued to weep for the unwanted loss.

One summer, the draught had hit (2)Bubastis at its most powerful, and the villagers were desperatly searching for more cats to sacrifice. There was only one left, and it belonged to a little girl that cared for her pet very much. The girl did not want to sacrifice her cat and fought against the villagers when they tried to take it from her. The villagers, mad from the heat and greedy for rain, overpowered the little girl and threw both her and her cat into the fire.

Bast was heartbroken at her worshipers cruelty, and so cried a flood that destroyed half the village and killed half of the people. Bast's twin sister Goddess, (3)Sekhmet, was angered by her sorrow, and cursed the remaining villagers into hideous cat creatures.

Bast couldn't bear to see the villagers suffer in their ignorant beast forms and soon reversed the spell. The curse couldn't be completely taken off though and the villagers remained in a half human half lion like state. Bast was saddened by this turn of events and so gave her newly dubbed katashean four gifts: The first was the gift to call upon fire, the second was the ability to transform into their ungainly beast form at their will, the third was the ability for both sexes to bare children, since there were so few of them at the time, and the fourth was such a beauty that the child baring katashean would glow as if they were kissed by moonlight.

'_The books certainly didn't mention anything about that,'_ Harry thought when Vitani finished the tale. He didn't doubt that Hermione would start pilfering the library for anything on Egyptian folklore as soon as he relegated this story to her.

Harry asked anything else that came to mind after that, such as the whole mating situation. He told her about some of the feelings he'd been having about Draco, negating his name of course, and asked if katashean had soul mates or magnetic charms like the veela did?

"Soul mates? Ha!" Vitani scoffed. "The veela often forget that they were cursed by their creator Aphrodite as well, for being such an adulterous people. They can only mate with whoever has a scent that most appeals to them, whether their mate wants them or not. Now a days they call it _soul mates_ or _one true love_ or some other such romantic nonsense as that.

"But we do not have any magic that would ensnare our mates. Our people are above such trickery, unlike the veela," she sneered. Harry had a feeling that there wasn't any love lost between the two species.

Vitani also let him in on a few useful tidbits; like a quick and easy way to tone down his heightened senses…and the small fact that at this age he could get pregnant at any time after they hit puberty!

"But the book said eighteen!" Harry exclaimed.

The older katashean snorted. "And I suppose this _book_ was written by humans, yes? Of course it's wrong! What do humans know about our kind? It would be good if a katashean wrote a book, but most of us aren't literate and when it comes to writing well…" she lifted her paws in front of her, showing the physical issue katashean had when it came to writing utensils.

They were still conversing well after the two hour limit they supposedly had, as Harry figured would happen. Vitani had Safiya show him their beast form, which was called the bellua.

In her bellua form Safiya was maybe a little bigger then a hippogriff. She looked like a giant saber tooth tiger, except instead of the tusk like fangs she had an endless amount of dagger sharp teeth. Her tail was longer and bushy and smoothly went from fur to fire at the tip, and a ring of flames also surrounded her ankles and wrists.

She was a very impressive site, her entire body structure giving off an air of power and grace. Harry wondered why the katashean weren't a more carnivorous race, when their teeth and claws seemed to just scream predator.

Harry found out that since he was a half-blood, he could only transform into a vengrabellua. He got the teeth, claws, fiery tail and most of the strength of a full blooded bellua, but other then that he pretty much remained the same.

"How do I change into a vengrasi – vengran –"

"Vengrabellua?" Vitani interrupted helpfully, smirking.

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Er, yeah, that."

"Just picture it in your head and concentrate hard on the image – no, don't do it now! It's very tiring after the first try and I am not about to carry you back to Hagrid. It's likely you'll transform when you're angry too, but it will become easier the more you do it."

By the time the topic of discussion got around to Harry's fire powers, the two youngest kittens had gone to sleep as well as Safiya. He was kind of glad that they had drifted off, as he didn't want the little ones to hear his next question or any of the likely despairing answers that would follow.

"Vitani," Harry started hesitantly. He couldn't find a polite way to word this next question, and he most certainly didn't want to offend or upset Vitani, who he was becoming quite fond of.

But he had to know. He had to know if the books were accurate about this, because maybe if the authors were wrong about the pregnancy then hopefully…well, he'd never get his answer just sitting there with Vitani looking at him curiously. So he took a deep breath and went on and asked: "Is it true that if someone ra – rapes us that they get our powers, that it can kill us?"

"Why?" Vitani said abruptly. "Has someone done that to you? Tell me who, I'll tear them to shreds!" She placed her paws on Harry's shoulders, her eyes roving over every inch of his body as if checking for any sign of injury.

"No, no, no! No ones done…_that_ to me," he said quickly. She calmed down a bit, but didn't seem completely reassured as she only removed one paw from his shoulder. "I have a lot of enemies you see and well…I just wanted to know if it was true." His eyes begged her for it to be wrong, that the humans had mixed things up again, and that her overreaction only happened because being raped was horrible thing period, and not because his powers could be stolen and he would freeze to death.

Even before she said anything, Harry already knew the answer. "I'm afraid that it's true, Harry." Then she quickly added at the sight of Harry's eyes widening in fear: "But as long as you had your pack and your mate by your side, you would pull through it eventually."

Harry smiled at her, but still felt a bit upset by the news. Perhaps this was why the rest of the pack was so hostile towards him. They assumed that he was the living product of some poor some poor submissive katashean who had been raped by a wizard, or most likely a muggle since apparently the line was on his mother's side.

His ears drooped. He sincerely hoped that wasn't the case, otherwise he'd probably hate himself too.

"Only our kind know this but, if someone has a large amount of magic…defiles us then they have to continue doing so every eight hours," Vitani smiled grimly, "or else they'll die within a week, and there is no cure for it either."

Harry's head snapped up at this, his eyes glazing over in a daze. His thoughts immediately went to Voldemort. He may have just found a way to kill the bastard once and for all! But how would he go about doing it, and when? If he ran this vague idea by Dumbledore would he help? Voldemort had been so quite lately, both in the prophet and his head, what was that monster up too?

"Kitten, what are you thinking?" The concern and suspicion in Vitani's voice snapped Harry out of his rapid planning. He tried to smile at her reassuringly, but it may have come out more as a grimace.

"Nothing, I was…nothing."

Vitani narrowed her eyes at him, apparently regretting having said anything about the matter. But Harry was glad she had. It terrified him, yes, but in the grand scheme of things what was one person's fear and pain compared to saving the lives of millions?

Without warning Vitani engulfed him in a hug, practically pulling his whole body on her lap. She nuzzled her cheek against his, purring softly, then started licking the fluffy side of his ears and his hair. He was quick to relax in her embrace, just letting the strange comfort this gave him wash over him. Was this what it felt like to have a mother, Harry wondered. Well, perhaps if she was half cat, but it was wonderful all the same.

"Don't you dare do anything foolish," Vitani whispered into his ear. "I would be greatly upset if something happened to you."

Harry smiled but didn't say anything. Doing foolish things was what made him a Gryffindor after all.

Vitani, almost reluctantly, let him go. "It's late, we'd best bring you back to your home. I hope Hagrid isn't angry with me for keeping you so long." She nudged Safiya with her paw and woke her up. "Watch the kittens, I'm taking Harry back now."

"Oh, you're – " she yawned, "you're leaving already? Well it was nice meeting you, come and visit soon, yes?"

Harry nodded, then followed Vitani back the way they had come.

As they started moving the other pack members started hackling him again. Things like "good riddance!" and "finally the freak is leaving!" could be heard amongst their angry snarls and growls.

"Pay them no mind, Harry," Vitani said as she glared at the other katashean. "They are merely jealous of how beautiful and exotic you look. I think I might leave this pack soon, I only stayed for my mate and now that he's passed on and Safiya's old enough to help me with the kittens I don't have any other reason to stay. They never really liked me, bastards are still stuck in the old ways, and I was without a pack before I met Naeem, I'm sure it wont be hard to adjust again…"

Vitani continued to ramble about her future plans and other miscellaneous things. Her voice was rather soothing to him, and perhaps she knew that because she didn't stop her one sided conversation till they reached the spot where Hagrid had left them. The half giant didn't arrive until ten minutes had passed, and when he did he was staggering a bit.

"'Lo Harry, yeh and Vitani 'ave a nice chat?" Hagrid boomed, his breath smelling of alcohol. Apparently the COMC professor had stopped by the Hogs Head for a little pick me up while he awaited Harry to return. "Let's head back to Hogwarts then. I think it migh' be a lil after yer curfew by now."

Harry snorted inwardly. It was more like _a lot_ after curfew, but Hagrid seemed to think otherwise, as he brought his watch up two inches away from his face and squinted at it. "Yep! Only 'bou eleventy twelve hundred minutes, till curfew. We'll make it no problem!"

Vitani looked from the tipsy giant to Harry, who was shaking his head in slight amusement. She decided then that it would be a good idea to keep up her duty as escort, lest her newly dubbed kitten be squished because Hagrid didn't know his left foot from his right at the moment.

She stopped at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, albeit very reluctantly, especially after Hagrid's slurred and loud reassurances of them being "jus' fiddlely faddlely fine!"

"Ah, yeh think yeh can make it the res' o' the way on yer own Harry?" Hagrid asked when they made it half way across the grounds.

Harry could see that his friend was on the brink of passing out, so with a soft smile and a reassuring pat on his large arm he sent the half giant on his way.

All the information he'd received ran through his mind as he headed for his shared room with Draco. No matter what kind of tangent he was on though, his thoughts kept always swinging back to Voldemort. Did the Dark Lord even know he was a katashean yet? He certainly would if he managed to capture him, as it was rather obvious. The real question was did Voldemort know about the power stealing? And if he didn't know, how was he going to get him to know without directly telling him, for surely if Harry forked over that kind of information then Voldemort would be suspicious.

'_I'll have to trick him into it, or somehow have one of the Death Eaters find out so they can tell him. Maybe our Mr. Theodore Nott may become useful for once…'_

He was so lost in his thoughts that he barely registered that he had arrived at the portrait (a picture of a muggle magician standing behind a table that had a bunch of magic tricks laid out on it) that led to his room, almost smacking right into the wall.

"Lookin' a little down tonight sweety, everything okay?" she asked, pushing the rabbit she had just pulled out of her top hat back in.

"Miaw," Harry said. **It's nothing.**

The magician scratched her head. "Hmm, I have no idea what you're saying, but I still think ya need some cheerin' up. And I've just the thing too!" She blew up a red balloon and then twisted it up until it was in the shape of a poodle. She picked up her hat and showed him that it was empty inside and that there was nothing behind or in front of it, then placed the balloon animal inside. "Nothin' up my sleeve," she waved a black plastic wand with a white tip over the hat, "presto, changeo, ALAKAZAM!"

The hat puffed out some smoke like a chimney. She reached inside it when it cleared, and pulled out a bouquet of red roses. Harry clapped, knowing the magician loved the sound of applause, plus the little trick in all of its silliness had cheered him up a bit.

The magician bowed, plopped her hat back on her head, and tossed the bouquet in the air where it transformed into a dozen red swallows that disappeared when they flew to the edge of the portrait. "Thank you, thank you! I knew the old school magicks were good for something. Go on and get some sleep now sweety, you look like you've had a long night." After saying this she swung open to allow Harry entrance.

Draco was seated in one of the chairs facing the portrait, his knee bobbing up and down in impatience. The sight of him quickly diminished his good mood, which usually wasn't the case, even though it was obvious that he had staid up at this late hour waiting for him.

"Have fun on your little excursion?" he sneered.

Harry shrugged, not having the energy to make a witty comeback. There was no doubt now that he really cared about this young man, and Harry desperately wanted him to be his mate. But what would be the point in even trying to court him when he it was likely he wouldn't survive by the end of this year?

His depressing thoughts must have appeared in some way on his face, because instead of continuing to taunt him Draco queried in a slightly concerned voice: "Potter?"

Harry weakly waved him off, as if that simple motion would sate the Slytherin's worries, and went through the door that led to their room. He sat on his bed and put his head into hands, feeling overwhelmed. Perhaps he had taken in too much information in one night, or the fact that the quickest and easiest solution to winning this war was to let Voldemort have his way with him.

In all likelihood it was probably the latter.

A few moments later Draco slowly opened the door and stood in the threshold. He leaned against the doorjamb, looking as if he were debating whether to enter or not. Coming to a decision, the Slytherin squared his shoulders, walked over to Harry's side of the room, and sat next to him.

"What happened Harry?" Draco asked softly.

Harry lifted his head and peered at who he seriously thought he was falling in love with. Draco was stiff as a bored, his knee jumping every now and then until he forced it to stop. Harry resisted the urge to smirk at Draco's expense. Apparently comforting wasn't the aristocrat's forte.

"**Nothing exactly, I just…learned some things that I really didn't want to know."**

"Well generally one never likes to hear that they are foolhardy and a headstrong git, but it's better to realize it now then continue to think otherwise."

Harry snorted. For once the insult was actually meant to be a friendly jibe, so he was sad to note that Harry's humor didn't last very long. "**I wish it was only that,"** he said quietly.

But Draco heard him. He probably knew that what was bothering Harry was more serious then he presumed by now. Unlike Ron and Hermione, he didn't push for him to spill his guts and to do it quickly – however much they meant well by it – and simply wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

When Harry was sure Draco wasn't going to jerk his arm away after realizing what he was doing, the small katashean rested his head against his chest, purring as softly as he could so he wouldn't disturb him.

His trembling stopped, which he hadn't realized he'd been doing until they'd diminished. He felt his depression vacate him a little, starting to think more rationally. He would wait to see if there was another way to stop Voldemort, perhaps one that didn't involve Harry dieing in such a horrible manner. And maybe, MAYBE, he would run the idea by Dumbledore, get a second opinion on the matter.

For now though, he was going to allow himself to feel some happiness, because his potential mate was holding him, and scratching behind his ears in a spot that was about to leave him a mere puddle of goo in a few moments.

HPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDM

1. _Bast:_ the Egyptian Goddess and protector of cats, women and children. She is Goddess of sunrise. Her goddess duty changed over the years, but, she is also known as a goddess of love, fertility, birth, music and dance.

2. _Bubastis:_ Bubastis served as the capital of the nome of Am-Khent, the Bubastite nome, the 18th nome of Lower Egypt. Bubastis was situated southwest of Tanis, upon the eastern side of the Pelusiac branch of the Nile. The nome and city of Bubastis were allotted to the Calasirian division of the Egyptian war-caste.

3. _Sekhmet:_ the Egyptian Goddess of sunset, destruction, death, rebirth and wisdom. She is also sometimes defined as a warrior or huntress goddess. The cycle of life and death was created when the primeval Goddess Sekhmet-Bast divided into two sisters, Sekhmet and Bast.

Here's a link to a picture of Bast and Sekhmet: http/ Hope you all enjoyed this chap. The next one shouldn't take as long to get out. Comments and criticism would be divine Peace and Chicken Grease

The Magicians Wish


	6. Chapter: SIX

Gosh!! Why did this take so damn long!! It was supposed to only be a few pages, honest! Oh well, I'm really sorry for the long wait and thanks for all the reviews and support. They makes me so happy! Hope you enjoy

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Chapter: SIX

The dining table was set impeccably as usual. Antique silverware glinted in the dim light provided by the grand chandelier that hung overhead, napkins likely made of silk or something similarly ridiculously expensive were folded into intricate little origami animals and positioned next to the plates, and of course there was the food. Delectable dishes that would have had Lucius Malfoy's mouth watering if he weren't above such plebian things.

'_Perhaps I should have listened to Narcissa and eaten before I left,'_ he mentally conceded. In his defense, he usually made sure to have an empty stomach before going to a Death Eater meeting, seeing as the Cruciatus Curse was often thrown about all willy nilly and Lucius had no inclination to retch all over his designer, worth-more-then-a-small-country, robes.

It was an entirely too messy affair and degrading to boot.

His darling wife knew this. They'd gone through it during the Dark Lord's first reign, and even several months ago when he did a Severus Snape on the Dark side (as his son so fondly put it) and went spy. And then, out of the blue, Narcissa goes and suggests having lunch with her before he apparate's to the meeting!

When Lucius asked her if she'd gotten a brain tumor that induced sudden amnesia some time that day, Narcissa responded with a chuckle: "Of course not dear, I've just got a feeling about this."

So of course, here Lucius is, sitting at a dinning table with the evilest Dark Lord in a century at the head. Said evil Dark Lord had _not_ in fact been throwing the Cruciatus Curse all willy nilly as Lucius presumed. Instead, he'd been yammering on and on about how he couldn't break through the Potter boy's mental wards…

For two hours straight.

And with all of that delicious food sitting right under their noses, not to be touched until this dratted meeting was over…

Oh the inhumanity of it all! Lucius would've rather taken the courtesy two or three minutes of _Crucio._

Lucius blanched, immediately taking the thoughts back and strengthening his Occlumency shields at the same time. He glanced as nonchalantly as Malfoyly possible at the head of the table, but the Dark Lord seemed to be fully focused on his rant and not a key mutinous Death Eater. The last thing Lucius wanted was to be tortured at his own volition.

"…and all I can see are images of catnip and yarn balls!" Lord Voldemort yelled. Dark tendrils of magic seeped off of him, his frustration becoming a tangible force. "Someone is making a fool of your Dark Lord and Master, my _faithful_ Death Eaters, and when I find out whom…" he let the threat go unsaid, blood red eyes roving over each masked figure in a search for the guilty party.

"Severus!" he boomed suddenly. Everyone's attention immediately went to the Death Eater sitting not but one seat away from the Dark Lord…

Lucius' old seat.

"Severus, my precious little spy," Voldemort purred with faux affection, "tell me, did you not say that the Potter boy's Occlumency lessons were discontinued?"

"Yes, my Lord," came Snape's silky voice, neutral and cold no matter what the situation.

Voldemort fingered his wand, caressing it like a loved one with his long spidery fingers. Lucius rather hoped that his old school time chum might get a taste of Cruciatus. Not because he was feeling vindictive or anything, but if only to prove to his wife that the curse _was_ employed and his precaution to not eat lunch was valid.

"Then why is it that every time I try and get into the boy's head I am stopped by these ridiculous blockades, hmm? This tells me a few things Severus, either the boy has had a sudden epiphany towards Occlumency and has started some independent study, or you have continued to train him without my knowledge. My suspicions are telling me to lean towards the latter, what do you have to say in your defense my _dear_ Severus?"

Snape stiffened, but that was all that showed of his fear and or worry. "I assure you that I have not continued Potter's private lessons this year my Lord, though it is possible that Dumbledore may have hired someone else to tutor the boy or is doing so himself."

Voldemort nodded to himself. "Yes, yes that sounds very plausible. This whole ordeal smells of that old coots work." Snape visibly sagged in relief, clearly feeling his interrogation over – "However, you are unsure of this, Severus?"

Snape hesitated. The act in itself proved he didn't know, yet the Potions Master still debated which answer would insure a punishment. "Yes my Lord. Without the extra lessons I see very little of the boy these days, and Dumbledore's trust in me is beginning to waver."

'_Oooh, bad move Severus old friend.'_ Lucius mentally winced for the surly fellow.

"I see." The Dark Lord paused for effect, then, quick as lightning, drew his wand and bellowed: "_Crucio!"_

The force of the curse knocked poor Severus clear out of his chair. The Potions Master writhed on the floor and screamed that strange, high pitched scream of his. None of the Death Eaters sneered at the blatant show of weakness; every one of them had suffered the curse at one time or another and knew that they had faired no better.

Lucius, however, let a smirk curl up from behind his mask and nodded to himself in satisfaction. Now Narcissa wouldn't be able to give him that damned not-so-subtle look of sheer _knowing_ when he returned home.

Moments later the Dark Lord lifted the curse. Ignoring the pained moans and harsh breathing from the sorry figure on the floor, Voldemort straightened up and reigned in an air of just-barely-calm authority. "Now, is there any news from our more _useful_," he shot Severus, who had pulled himself back on to his seat and was trying desperately not to fall out of it again in a dead faint, an annoyed look, "young Hogwarts spies?"

"My son has reported something of interest, mi Lord."

Lucius was shocked to hear the familiar nasally voice of Thaddeaus Nott, who, the last he'd heard, was on an all expense paid vacation in Azkaban Fortress. Lucius himself managed to get out of that hell whole (it being just as terrible even without Dementors) by bribing, contacting several old _friends_ who were in high positions in the Ministry, and changing his motivations severely. Nott had neither money nor connections, so the only conclusion Lucius could come up with from this particular riddle, was that their benevolent Lord and Master saw fit to give Mr. Nott a helping hand.

It was an insult! A proverbial slap to the face to deign that worthless scarecrow Nott be rescued before him! So what if he had decided to switch sides before he escaped, Lucius had lied, stolen, and maimed countless people beyond recognition, all in the name of this psycho's _cause_, and this was the thanks he got!? To be left to rot in prison while he spirited away someone who couldn't even spell "Mudblood" properly, let alone torture one!

'_Oh that Potter boy had better kill him,'_ Lucius thought vehemently. And damnit all if he wouldn't be there, when Voldemort was down and out, to give him a taste of Cruciatus and a few kicks in the gut for good measure.

"…into some type of cat creature over the summer holiday. He isn't sure if it's a curse or an inheritance, but if that were the case it would explain why you can't ah…reach him, mi Lord."

Voldemort's already hideous face twisted into a grimace, and for a moment Lucius thought he was going to curse Nott just for the mere reminder of his predicament concerning Potter. Unfortunately he didn't, and instead said: "That is possible," he started slowly, "though unlikely. The Potter's have no magical creature blood in their line, and his mother was a Mudblood, but I wonder…

"Rabastan!" He barked, "After this meeting you will investigate the muggle Evans' family line."

"Yes, my Lord," the Lestrange brother said in his low timbre.

"Is there anything else, Thaddeaus?"

"Yes, Theodore has also said some very _interestin_' things about Lucius Malfoy's son, as well."

Lucius stiffened in his seat, but did nothing more lest his protests bring the wrath of Voldemort down upon him that much quicker. His mind raced to recount anything his son could have done that the Dark Lord would find fault with. Suddenly he felt all the color drain from his face, as a horrendous thought struck him. Surely, surely his intelligent and cunning little Dragon would have the sense to not broadcast Lucius' precarious allegiance to the Light…

"Oh?" Voldemort's tone and expression gave not more than innocent curiosity, but no one missed the Dark Lord's eyes flash a deeper red, and the fact that those eyes were solely trained on Lucius Malfoy.

Thaddeaus cleared his throat. "It seems that Draco Malfoy has been proclaiming to anyone who'll listen that he's no longer in your service, mi Lord, even goin' so far as to separate himself from those that are faithful to you and the cause."

Scattered mutterings sounded amongst the other Death Eaters…except for Severus, who was still in enough pain that he would be adverse to talking, gossip or otherwise.

Lucius, meanwhile, was cursing his beloved son from here to high heaven. Damn the boy and his arrogance! If Lucius made it out of here alive his son was in for a severe talking to…and grounding for the rest of his natural life…and serving as a temporary House elf. Yes, if Draco hated anything than it was mundane domestic work.

"You're right Thaddeaus, that is very interesting news." Voldemort raised his wand, the move silencing any left over conversation. Lucius braced himself for either Cruciatus or Killing Curse, as one or the other were just as likely to be cast upon him at this point.

"_Crucio!_"

Lucius had to physically restrain himself from jumping out of his seat when the screaming started…

Because it wasn't his own.

Nott twitched and writhed and hollered so loud that his lungs were surely due to explode any moment.

"You, ALL of you, would do well to remember the seriousness of this organization!" Voldemort yelled above Thaddeaus, mostly addressing the more intact Death Eaters. "We are here to reshape Wizarding society, not tattle on each other in the hopes of gaining rank!"

Voldemort slashed his wand to the side, cutting off the curse but not Thaddeaus' wailing. Indifferently, as if there wasn't a grown man sobbing in pain and rolling around on the floor, the Dark Lord waved his arms open in a mockery of welcome. "This meeting is adjourned. Enjoy your dinner."

Lucius was somewhat glad that he hadn't bothered to relax just yet, as not a second passed before Voldemort said, or rather ordered: "Lucius, come with me."

The aristocrat followed his "Master" down a long hallway after exiting the dining area. Nott's intent may have been childish, as Voldemort put it, but his claim was serious nonetheless. Voldemort was many things, but naïve fool was definitely not one of them.

"Take a seat, Lucius," Voldemort said once they reached his study.

Lucius, though all instinct screamed for him to stay standing and close to the door, did as told. The furnishings were all velvet and gothic colors, perfectly suited for any Dark Lord who wanted to make an intimidating impression. In Lucius' opinion it was all a bit suffocating, especially with the fireplace as the only source of light and arranged so that it would glint against the spines of his many Dark Arts books.

Perhaps that was the intention though.

The Dark Lord stood ram rod straight against his desk. "You have always been my most faithful Lucius," he started, "that is why, despite the seriousness of these accusations, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. Now I'm going to ask you, is what Thaddeaus said true?"

Lucius, always good at thinking on his toes, (which made him a great Death Eater and an even greater bureaucrat) said while looking Voldemort dead in the eye; "Yes, my Lord."

A split second after unmitigated fury started to emanate off the Dark Lord like a bad smell, Lucius forged on; "With Dumbledore and the other blood traitors under the impression that my son has…turned over a new leaf, so to speak, they will be more inclined to speak openly around him."

"You planned this?" Voldemort said tightly, scowling. At the very least he no longer looked like he was going to curse Lucius to hell and back.

"Yes my Lord, my son and I both actually." Lucius forced a smirk, his mind working a mile a minute as he continued to make up a suitable lie. "You know how trusting that old fool is; anyone with a sob story would be welcome into his fold with open arms. Severus is doing a fine job with his spy work, but Draco has access to some of the most prominent figures on the Light side's children, and their tongues are far more lax when it comes to secretive information."

The Dark Lord seemed to be buying Lucius' story. Slowly the scowl melted into a smirk, and Voldemort was regarding him with a sense of admiration as opposed to righteous betrayal. "You are a credit to Slytherin Lucius."

"Thank you my Lord."

"I would have preferred you to have informed me of this plan beforehand."

"Forgive me, Lord. I haven't necessarily had a chance to get a private moment with you, and with pathetic imbeciles like Nott that don't know how to keep crucial knowledge to them selves I couldn't afford to bring it up in a meeting."

He felt something nudge at the edge of his mind. Damn, apparently the Dark Lord wasn't as completely convinced of his performance as Lucius assumed. He pushed his feelings of contempt for Nott and pride in his son to the forefront of his thoughts, hoping that would be enough to quell Voldemort's suspicions.

The alien intrusion retreated after a few moments. It was just as well, because Lucius didn't think he could block Voldemort out of his more damning thoughts any longer then that. He never was the gifted Occlumens Severus was.

"Regardless," Voldemort finally said, "you _will_ tell me before you commence with a plan of this magnitude."

Lucius understood an order when he heard one. "Yes my Lord."

"You may return home then, dinner is likely finished by now."

Only too happy to escape, Lucius gave a respectful bow and retreated from the study and the enclosure entirely until he reached beyond the wards, then apparated to Malfoy Manor.

With the adrenaline rush from almost being tortured and killed for treason quickly dying down, Lucius now felt it safe to think up a proper punishment for his beloved and only heir's blatant stupidity. '_Honestly, I know I raised him better than that! He's getting far too careless these days; clearly all his mother's doing.'_

Just as he was settling down and about to order a well deserved cup of tea and some scones (he was still hungry after all) from one of the house elves, his blasted Order of The Phoenix badge vibrated in his pocket. "Damn it all!" Lucius exclaimed, glaring at the red and gold badge as if it were the source of all his problems. Several minutes were wasted as he cursed the Order and Dumbledore's very existence, before he apparated to yet another meeting.

His spirits were lifted fractionally upon arriving at 12 Grimmauld Place, when he caught sight of the condition the portrait of his wife's _dear_ Aunt Walburga was in. Somehow, one of the Order members managed to turn it around so that it was facing the wall, since the permanent _sticking charm_ couldn't be removed. He smirked as he heard the muffled rants Mrs. Black was trying to scream out. At least Lucius wouldn't have to worry about getting a headache today.

Everyone was already there in the meeting room, and everyone was shooting him hostile and or suspicious glares (aside from his wife, Dumbledore, and Severus). Ignoring the useless peons and their pathetic attempt at glaring, Lucius sat in the empty chair next to Narcissa, who half smiled at him in greeting.

A dumpy witch read off the minutes from the last meeting, Hestia something or other, and then Dumbledore finally stood up and spoke:

"Welcome everyone. First I would like to ask if anyone has any news to report before we get to the main point?"

Severus stood up. "Thanks to the complete conspicuity on our part, the Dark Lord is now somewhat aware of Mr. Potter's condition," he said, sneering.

Dumbledore silenced the scattered murmurings at the mention of this with a raise of his hand. "He knows Harry is a Katashean?"

"He knows that Potter isn't completely human anymore, but he's bound to find out about that soon enough. The Dark Lord may be insane, but he can _read_ fine print just like the rest of us."

"Oh Albus! Why didn't you ever think to put a Glamour or Disguise charm on the boy?" Molly Weasley cried with not a little exasperation in her voice. "His heritage should have never left your office the moment you found out about it."

Several other Order members nodded their head in agreement to the Weasley woman's statement. Lucius couldn't help but wonder at the Headmaster's reasoning as well. Was there an ulterior motive, or was senility catching up with the old coot?

Dumbledore sighed. "I did think of just that Molly. But I also remembered that things rarely manage to stay hidden in Hogwarts, and when they are found out the social backlash can be extreme. If you would all recall the Parseltongue incident…"

Mrs. Weasley didn't look satisfied with that answer. "But what if You-Know-Who finds out about what - what he could…gain from Harry now?"

"Then Harry will be in the exact same position as he was before," Dumbledore said, a touch firmly. "And as long as he remains within the walls of Hogwarts he will be safe."

'_So you've said for the past five years, but we all know what transpired then. Safe indeed,'_ Lucius thought. Narcissa glanced at him, mirroring his expression of disbelief.

"Is there anything else you would like to add Severus? Anyone else? Yes Lucius?"

Lucius rose from his seat gracefully. "I thought it would be a good idea to make you all aware of the fact that the Dark Lord believes that my son is pretending to be on the Light side in order to spy for the Dark."

"You mean to say that he isn't?" Author Weasley muttered, purposely loud enough for all to hear.

Lucius had to hold back a smirk when Mrs. Weasley elbowed her skinny husband in the ribs and gave him a glare that promised a lecture when they returned alone.

"Thank you for informing us of this Lucius," Dumbledore said before anyone else could give their opinion on the aristocrat's statement. "At this point we really can't afford any misunderstandings of that nature."

Lucius inclined his head, and then sat back down.

"Is there anything else? No? Wonderful! Then there's some good news I'd like to add. Thanks to Narcissa the Ministry was able to apprehend a large gang of Death Eater's that were attacking in Bangor."

"When was this?" another witch, whose name Lucius couldn't be bothered to remember either, asked.

"Why, just this morning my dear," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling merrily.

It must have been an isolated plan of attack then, otherwise the Dark Lord would have included those incompetent Death Eaters in his rant today and dished out far more Cruciatus Curses. Lucius and Severus exchanged a knowing glance. Once Voldemort _did_ actually find out about this debacle, there would be hell to pay amongst the other ranking Death Eaters.

"But how did she find out so quickly? And how did she manage to convince the Ministry to help? And when –" that same witch asked again.

"Slow down Emmeline," Dumbledore said, with that good natured chortle of his. "Narcissa informed Regis Anderson months in advance. There were also a few anonymous tips to the Ministry that helped a well."

Lucius snorted mentally. He would bet his entire vault at Gringotts that his wife was yet still the source of the tip. And if that infuriating twinkle in Dumbledore's eye was anything to go by, then Lucius would say that the Headmaster was aware of this too.

"Anal Anddy?" queried Fletcher to no one in particular. "I'd forgotten he was still posted in Wales. Guess there was some use for him after all."

"Why didn't you tell any of us before, if you've known for so long?" that insufferable Emmeline woman said, obviously fishing for accusation.

Narcissa's expression, which had been that of mild boredom at first, now foretold innocent puzzlement. "Well, I heard that a couple of Death Eaters were planning their own raid to please the Dark Lord while I was at little Elliott's third birthday party – you remember Lucius, Margaret and Darius Thatcher's boy? We were having tea in the garden – really Lucius, we must visit the Thatcher Manor again, the grounds are simply breath taking! – and just as the Thatcher's house elf Manny was serving us these delicious cinnamon biscuits, Rebecca let it slip about the raid. Or was it Elizabeth? Yes, it was Elizabeth, because I remember she was complaining about how her husband would be too busy to get her a diamond encrusted Hungarian Horntail broach for their eleventh anniversary –"

"That's all fine and good Narcissa, but _why_ didn't you bring this up at an order meeting?" Fletcher asked through gritted teeth.

Lucius smirked at all of the agitated Order members, knowing that more than half would love nothing more than to shake his wife by the shoulders and scream, "Get to the point woman!" But that was the beauty of Narcissa's little act to throw off the nosy Order members…

It wasn't an act at all.

Narcissa sniffed haughtily and let out a delicate "hmph". "How rude of you Mr. Fletcher, interrupting someone while they clearly have the floor to speak. Didn't your parents teach you any manners at all?

"If it isn't too much _trouble_ I would very much like to continue, Headmaster."

Dumbledore looked as if he could just barely contain himself from pounding his fists on the table and howling with laughter. "Oh, please do continue my Lady."

"Thank you. Now as I was saying, I'd gotten the information, but though I was aware I had to report something of this importance immediately, I also couldn't leave the party. It would just be terribly impolite you see, since I haven't had the chance to chat up with Margaret since Draco was born. Oh and that reminds me Lucius, we have a dinner date with the Thatchers next Saturday at this lovely new restaurant in France. I think it's called…well I don't know what it's called exactly, but I do know that they have the most delectable chocolate éclairs…"

Several Order members cleared their throats as they saw the signs of Narcissa getting off topic again.

"Ah, like I was saying, I couldn't leave the house, so I decided to wait until the party was over. Unfortunately it was rather late when I left, so I figured most of you would be asleep by then. But then I recalled someone mentioning Mr. Anderson was stationed in Wales because he was…getting a bit too eager when it came to capturing Death Eaters. Now, in Wales it was most likely late morning, so I Floo'd him and gave him a head's up about Death Eaters coming his way."

Shaklebolt let out a long sigh and massaged his temples with his fingertips. "Once again Narcissa, why didn't you inform us, the rest of the Order of the Phoenix, of the raid?"

Narcissa paused, as if she were going over that entire day yet again, and then chuckled. "Oh dear me, I believe it slipped my mind entirely."

There was a collective groan of exasperation around the table. Her actions, combined with her tendency to natter, only confirmed the Order's assumption that Narcissa was nothing but an empty headed snob. Of course, none of them would ever understand how her position was more perilous than even Lucius and Severus'.

For whatever reason, a good majority of the Death Eaters seemed to be under the impression that Lucius physically abused his wife and child. He couldn't quite get his mind around how anyone could come up with such a notion. After all, he loved Draco and Narcissa more than anything, even to the point of being in the company of uncultured dunderheads from time to time. There was also the small fact that he couldn't "physically" abuse Narcissa even if he wanted to. Lucius remembered quite clearly the one and only time he had attempted to strike his wife in a blind rage, and had ended up judo-flipped onto the coffee table for his trouble.

Thankfully his wife found little satisfaction in gloating, so it was never mentioned unless Lucius did something monumentally stupid.

Despite Narcissa being some kind of martial arts master (Bellatrix wasn't the only capable fighter of the Black sisters), she was still seen as a fragile china doll that was being pummeled by her sadistic husband, and therefore more susceptible to running over to the Light side for safety.

The Order moved on to discuss how they were going to insure that the vampires stay neutral, as they, along with the giants, didn't want anything to do with a human's war but were privately rooting for the Dark side.

"Headmaster, I hate to interrupt, but I was wondering if you were going to bring up what you and Mr. Potter discussed this morning," said McGonagall.

An oddly blank expression crossed over Dumbledore's normally jovial façade. "What Mr. Potter and I spoke of is inconsequential; I see no reason to share our conversation here."

"Inconse –" McGonagall sputtered. She then spoke as if she couldn't believe what the Headmaster had previously said: "Honestly Albus, I'm certain that Harry's idea has more than a few holes in it, but I think something of this magnitude is worth brain storming over."

"If the Headmaster said it's not something to mention, then it's not something to mention Minerva," said Tonks.

McGonagall pursed her lips and glared at the young Auror. "Oh really Ms. Tonks? Then if I said that Mr. Potter believed he'd found a way to defeat Voldemort, would you still think it's nothing to mention?"

This got the room buzzing with excited chatter. Lucius scoffed and rolled his eyes. The Transfiguration Professor may as well have said that Honeyducks was giving out a lifetime supply of chocolate for free, from the way these supposed adults were acting.

"Like I said before, this is not a matter I wish to –"

"Come now Albus, it can't be that bad…"

"Perhaps if we all talked about it we could work the kinks out…"

"Imagine, we may finally win this war yet…"

"The boy owes it to us anyway, 'bout time he came up with something on his own…"

"Harry is NOT just a tool to be used and thrown away!!" Dumbledore exploded.

Everyone immediately fell silent. The unmitigated fury radiating off the old wizard both fascinated and put the fear of God into Lucius. Dumbledore's fists were clenched and blue wisps of magic swirled around his form like a translucent shield. It was times like these that Lucius was reminded that Albus Dumbledore was as powerful, if not more so, as the Dark Lord, and there was very good reason to be wary of him.

Dumbledore straightened up and reigned in an air of just-barely-calm authority. Then he said in an even tone but with a dangerous edge: "What Harry suggested he sacrifice himself to, is a fate I would not even wish upon Voldemort."

There were a few startled gasps, and some looked to their neighbors with wide eyes, but there weren't any sounds otherwise.

Dumbledore, periwinkle eyes blazing in rage, looked at each member without bothering to hide his disgust and disappointment. Even Lucius felt somewhat chastised, and he hadn't said anything about the entire matter! "From the reactions I've heard in this room, I feel that I'm right to keep Harry's idea to myself.

"I understand that war can make us desperate, and do things we would never dream of doing under other circumstances, but we must remember our morals, and our values, lest we become no better than our enemies.

"Harry is a kind and selfless child, and because of the combined effects of his upbringing and all the Boy-Who-Lived propaganda, he does not believe his life is worth as much as anyone else's." Dumbledore leaned a bit forward, most likely aware that the swirls of magic made him into a very intimidating figure. "So, if I find that any of you have approached Harry about this or encouraged him to go through with it, there will be _dire_ consequences. Am I understood?"

A subdued chorus of "Yes sir's" sounded.

Dumbledore paused, probably probing a few choice people with Legilimency to insure their honesty. "Good," he finally said. "You are all dismissed."

As they were the only ones who hadn't eagerly demanded Potter be gift wrapped and shipped to Voldemort as soon as humanly possible, Lucius and Narcissa left with their heads held high and guilt free.

"Shall we adjourn to the dinning room, beloved?" Narcissa queried politely. "It's already past dinner time and I'm _sure_ you're just starving now."

Lucius was about to tell her that he was right, that the Dark Lord used the Cruciatus Curse and that it had been foolish for her to suggest eating lunch.

But it was too late. She'd already given him that _look_ of sheer knowing, knowing that only Nott and Severus had been cursed today.

Logically, he knew that wasn't exactly true, as Narcissa was neither a Legilimens nor Telepath. He wouldn't be surprised though, if she had some other underhanded ability to tell if he was lying.

He just had to figure out what it is.

They ate in the Crystal Dining Room (appropriately dubbed as everything but the walls and rug were made of diamonds or glass), since the table was smaller and they would have an easier time talking to each other.

As Narcissa went on and on about the frivolous details of her day, Lucius took this time to admire her beauty, tuning in to the one sided conversation every now and then in case she mentioned something of importance. When he finally managed to get a word in edge wise, Lucius told her of the events during the Death Eater meeting. Before he could rant about how _her_ son had almost gotten him murdered, Narcissa interrupted:

"Oh, that reminds me; I received some mail from little Draconus a few days ago!"

"Yes, and Draco is exactly who I wanted to talk about –"

"It's just awful dear! Draco's friend Blaise Zabini was being picked on because he let slip of his allegiance, and when Draco went to defend him they started picking on him too! My sweet little angel is so brave! But now that horrible Theodore Nott boy has practically all of Slytherin House tormenting Draco and his friends. I do hope this hasn't reached the Dark Lord yet, I know it would be terrible for you."

Lucius, his righteous anger towards his son slowly deflating, told her of Thaddeaus Nott calling him out and his private conversation with Voldemort.

"Well, you understand now that it wasn't his fault, right?" Narcissa said when he finished.

Lucius grunted noncommittally. "I hardly approve of Draco jumping to the aid of his friend just because they were being taunted. Discretion is of the utmost importance at this point and that comes before his friend's feelings, especially when there are other people's lives at stake!"

Narcissa put a calming hand on top of his. "He knows that dear," she said quietly. "That's why he sent the letter in the first place, he was really worried about us, scared to death that the Dark Lord had lopped off our heads and put them on pikes to make an example of us."

Lucius was actually startled into laughter. "That boy has an active imagination."

"And it's not just school boy taunts either. They're Cursing him Lucius! Poor Blaise would have had his arms and legs broken if Draco hadn't intervened…"

Lucius sighed heavily and took a sip of his wine. "All right, all right. I won't scold him…this time. But the next time I'm accused of treason because of him I'm caning his bottom right in front of the entire student body of Hogwarts."

Narcissa smiled a very self satisfied smile. Damn insufferable woman.

"There's something else Lucius," she said after polishing off the rest of her salad.

"I'm almost afraid to find out," Lucius deadpanned. "What is it?"

"It seems Draco has become rather infatuated with someone." She sniffed emotionally. "My little angel baby is growing up."

"Really now? Oh God, tell me it's not that Parkinson girl. I'd have to hear her simpering voice every holiday, and during family reunions…I'll be struck deaf by the age of fifty!"

"Oh no, it's not Pansy," she said hurriedly.

Lucius sighed in relief and took another sip of his wine. Who could possibly be worse than Parkinson?

"I believe it's Harry Potter –"

Lucius regretted taking that sip of wine now as it only wound up spat up all over the table. He coughed and sputtered, desperately searching for a napkin and his dignity. "Wh –what!?!" he managed to choke out.

"Don't you think they'd look lovely together?" Narcissa carried on as if Lucius hadn't just sprayed wine everywhere like a toddler. "Harry is such a beautiful boy, perfect for my Draco. And can you imagine their children? Green eyes with blond hair, they'll be stunning! Oh, but they'll have to get married first! I'm planning the entire thing of course, though I'm sure Draco will put up a fuss about it. Silly boy, doesn't he know it's a mother's duty to plan their child's wedding –"

"WAIT!!" Lucius cut his wife off before she could start going on about teaching Potter the best way to knit booties. "Draco said this, that he…had an interest in Potter?"

Narcissa glared at him mutinously for halting her rambling. "Well, he didn't say it _exactly_," she said a bit hesitantly. "But you know…I've just got a feeling about this."

Lucius was a proud man, but he could safely admit that he made mistakes from time to time and was quite willing to learn from them. So, when his wife said she had a _feeling_ about something then well…

"But of course, dear." He lifted his glass and silently toasted to his son and Harry Potter, whishing them an eventual happy marriage, then drank the rest of his wine in one gulp.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

A/N: Well I really hope I characterized Lucuius and Narcissa okay. Not evil but not exactly a cream puff of happiness either. I'd be happy to hear what you guys think!


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